The Wastelanders
by xMechaSheikx
Summary: A war, still fresh in the minds of those who fought in it and those who were affected by it. The scars are many, mentally, psychologically, and even physically, but most so was a planet once called a paradise. Now a shell of it's former glory the war said to be over rages on. Humans and Dukni still battle covertly, but new arrivals threaten to escalate the conflict. This is Agria.
1. Prologue

The Wastelanders

Prologue

Agria, a Terran colony established nearly seventy years ago in the star system of Vega. The planet was once a paradise, almost just like Earth and thus millions of people flocked to it, eager to make a new start and in other cases a nice profit. For a good fourty years humanity thrived on Agria, utilizing the planet's untapped resources for immense wealth and attracting more people to live on the colony. It wasn't until April of 2064 that humanity realized that they weren't the only ones intent on making Agria a new place to live. It was on Agria that we made first contact with the race known as the Dukni.

They were not happy in the least to see that the Terran's had gotten to Agria first and so a long war ensued. Better fortified and better prepared the colonists were able to hold the planet easily, that was until ten years into the war. The Dukni were running out of patience and a change in their leaders made the urge to end the war quickly even more pressing. With one fateful decision the Dukni decided that if they could not have Agria for themselves, then no one would. An entire fleet of cruisers and destroyers hovered over the planet for three days before sending their payloads onto the planet's surface.

Hundreds of thermonuclear warheads barreled at the planet at supersonic speeds and when they hit it nearly wiped the entire surface of the planet clean. Agria was no longer a lush, green paradise, it was a bleak, rocky wasteland. Many of the cities that had formed were now ruins and those humans who survived the bombing had to make a choice. Head back home, where they would certainly suffer on the dying planet, or stay on Agria and fight to regain what civilization had been lost. Many of the businessmen and those who fed off capitalistic systems left immediately, but the ones who knew how to survive and knew they could still thrive stayed behind.

Twenty years after the bombing of Agria, humanity still squanders about here forging new towns in the wastelands and expanding slowly back to the roots of the colony. Though the planet, without major Terran government funding and time, might never regrow into a lush paradise, those of us who stayed here make the best of it. Between occasional Dukni scouting and raiding parties which are now commonly referred to as Snatchers or Scavengers, and fighting against the mutated creatures its a hell of a living. Most people don't give anyone trouble, unless they absolutely deserve it. Justice is fair and everyone is willing to help out everyone else, especially if you don't have the money for some of the services you might require.

Hard work is just as good as cold hard cash, and knowing how to kill a mutated creature or two can definitely keep you alive. The panzies that still live on Earth think that our lives are deprived and miserable, but that's not true...well sometimes it's not. It's true that we have our share of hardships when a march of Snatchers or Scavengers come along, or we're short on water or food, but it's no different from when the Pilgrims settled in North America. Humans, we can adapt, and that's one thing that the Dukni never could really foresee.

The year is 2095 in the perky month of June, which on Agria is springtime and an equivalent of April. Due to recent reports sent back to Earth a few people have come back to re-colonize the planet after realizing that all was not lost in the bombings. Where I live there's a shuttle bringing the little outpost of Garrison a couple of scientists. Apparently they're part of some group called 935, and their mission is research. From what I gathered, (or hacked into) what they really want is to find some odd energy source that they believed the planet had.

In all honesty I don't mind the science-types too much, but when they go around and dabble in crazy mysticism like that it makes me wonder about the fields of science as a whole. Whatever they were here for and whatever they were going to be doing I just hope that it isn't too drastic, at least not to cause a whole upstart in the nice society we created on the planet.


	2. New Blood, New Start

***And a new start indeed! To assure you all that I haven't died or anything I'm back. It's been nearly a year of nothing and then this little tidbit pops into my head and boom! I'm writing like a champ. Now Aftermath didn't go as planned and it's just been dead in the water and unfortunately may be so permanently. But this new story gives me the opportunity to start fresh out of the box and think up completely unique scenarios for the original crew and my beloved OC. Now this story is not "zombie-related", nor does it feature zombies, but it does feature the characters. In short it was sort of a decision of 'Hey I wanna cast these guys in a different kind of scenario. Give 'em new terrain and let them develop in new ways unknown to the actual zombies franchise.' So here it is and here I am with the freshest crop of my mind written down for your entertainment! Enjoy!***

_Rune_

A common Terran government transport shuttle landed on the outskirts of the outpost-town. The dust it roused forced us (the militia) to raise our scarves so it wouldn't enter our systems. Once the ion engines powered down the dust and debris settled and the door opened. As the first scientist came out we lowered our scarves and with the information we'd got from the Terran government we recognized him almost instantly. The ringleader of the cell, Dr. Ludvig Maxis, notorious for his foul-temper and odd cravings of science fiction.

Following him were the others we'd read up on, Dr. Daniel Schuster, Dr. Erik Groph, Dr. Natalie Hartlin, Dr. Seymour Simons, and last, but not least (and the most disturbing of the lot) Dr. Edward Richtofen. They were all a bit creepy in their own ways, but Dr. Richtofen, he was outright weird. Before I could do anymore observation I heard the rough call to attention by the militia leader, and my long time friend Tank Dempsey. After the brief salute we escorted them to their temporary lodgings and research facility. I was stationed right next to the freakish German scientist, who kept taking quick glances at me thinking I didn't notice.

Garrison wasn't a generally well-funded community even though we were on the outer rim of the "civilized zone" for the Serna Highlands and that should have meant more funding. Not that we minded the lack of money in the community, in fact we did better without it especially since we didn't have to put up with arguments over monetary conning and getting the small outpost riled up. Within the group of scientists I could tell which ones were newer to the slightly impoverished, and partly dangerous lifestyle, and who was a rather seasoned veteran. Dr. Maxis was obviously one of the veterans, while Dr. Hartlin and Dr. Simons were looking around with concern and curiosity. Just what this outpost needed, new bloods, we'd have to train them all to use a gun and how to kill just about anything you might encounter out in the Highlands, with the exception of Dukni, of course.

I couldn't have been happier to see the group take their leave to their temporary homes especially since I wouldn't get stared to death. After a walk back to the barracks I was encountered by Dempsey who I could tell by his face he needed to talk about something.

"So what'dya think about those science guys?" he started.

"They're okay, except for the Edward fellow. He's got a pretty sketchy history if you ask me." I replied while adjusting my left shoulder armor.

"Ah, more government hacking I suppose?"

I nodded affirmatively and sat down to clean my rifle, but I kept my real focus on him.

"Apparently the man's had military experience, but the logs didn't say what kind. I can only imagine that it was some pretty secretive stuff, otherwise I would have been able to find it." I informed.

"Well, that warrants a bit of suspicion, what else you got?"

"He's fucked up in the head, big time too. I'm not talking OCD or depression, it's some real time sickness of the mind. Guy's got schizophrenia like no one's business, he keeps it under control with some hellishly strong meds."

Dempsey rubbed the back of his neck and then popped his neck a few times.

"If any of those scientists are going to go, it better be him first." he prayed.

"And how." I seconded. A few minutes later our elitist sniper returned from his routine routes carrying a few Swarmer pelts with him. Takeo Masaki, Manjurian samurai-ninja, trained in Hell itself and came out unscathed and silent as deep space. He was a man of few words, and much honor that he cultivated himself his entire life.

"Damn Tak, how many were out there today?!" Dempsey questioned in disbelief as the twelve flimsy pelts collided with the floor.

"They have a nest crose to the western warr. I took it upon myself to eradicate them." the sniper replied in his heavy Japanese/Manjurian accent.

"Well thanks for that Tak, don't know what we'd do without ya." Tank cheered, patting the quiet man on the shoulder and then leaving the room. Before I could think of anything to say Takeo left the room as well leaving me alone.

Once I was satisfied with my rifle's cleanliness I left the barracks to wander around the small outpost. There weren't any children in here seeing that being so close to the edge of the safe zone was an immediate risk to family life. I was one of the youngest people in the outpost by far, but I could certainly make up for it in skill and survivability. My father had taught me every thing I knew about firearms, survival, hunting, and (the most important skill on the edge of the safe zone) killing Dukni. That was something I was going to have to help teach the new bloods within the science group.

I really wasn't looking forward to having to train the bastards, it was a waste of time that could be better spent patrolling the walls or hunting the mutated creatures that plagued the outpost from time to time. It was a necessary chore to ensure that no one died like an idiot or at least without an ample fight, the last thing we needed in Garrison was another body to add to the graveyard. There were already too many buried in that small outcrop of sacred ground, militia like myself, civilians that where either too far from the outpost or killed during Dukni raids, and my father. It often seemed like no one here died of natural causes, unless you count radiation sickness or Dukni poison as "natural" deaths. The oldest person in Garrison was only fifty-three and she wasn't too keen on going outside her home unless it was absolutely necessary.

A brief walk going nowhere landed me at the gates to the outpost at them two militiamen were posted as guards along with several more lining the walls. Just as I was about to step outside the walls a Duneracer patrol had just returned and with them was one of the other well-known militiamen. Nikolai Belinski, it was easy to tell which one he was considering the fact that he basically towered over everyone else and wore the heaviest armor of anyone in Garrison. He was one of the scariest guys I'd ever met and I sure as hell would bring him to a fight if I had to. To add to the whole towering golem part his Russian accent added even more to the intimidation factor.

"Well you guys came back rather early." I remarked, usually the patrols were out well after sundown.

"There was nothing out there, if there was anything to report it would be the lack of Dukni activity." Nikolai replied.

"Really, either way you gotta report to Dempsey. Action or no." I ended before heading to my own Duneracer.

"Hey, don't be out too late, we've got new blood to train!" he reminded me.

"I won't, just going out for a little bit of target practice."

With that I got in the Duneracer and started up the engine taking off for the Pit to hone my skills. They called it the Pit for a reason; for starters it was an abandoned quarry that went several hundred feet into the ground, and it was re-purposed for training the militia and the occasional military groups that passed through. It was empty today seeing that there wasn't much going on, but that would soon change when we would have to put the newcomers into a basic training regiment for at least a week. For me, the Pit being empty meant more focus and a lot more time to myself to think over the things that were troubling my mind. Especially with the scientist group in Garrison there was a lot to think about.

* * *

_Dempsey_

Paperwork, it's a major pain in the ass even if I don't have to do a lot of it, of course when I do get paperwork it's usually important. This packet was for the Terran government, a report on whether or not the scientist group came on time and without injury or illness, the usual nit-picky details that they loved to scrutinize over. And to think I could be out shooting up Swarmers or blasting off the heads of some Dukni scum, but the papers came first. Mid-way through the packet I heard the door to my barracks room open and the thumping steps of the giant Russian, Nikolai.

"Back so soon." I remarked looking up from the paper.

"Da, there's not much to say. No shuttles, not even the hint of a Dukni camp in the area and probably not even for miles. I'd say our worst concern are the Swarmers and even they aren't much of a problem." he reported.

"That's odd, the Dukni are usually more active this time of year. Maybe that transport shuttle's escort fleet shot down a few of the bastards before they left." I deduced.

"Maybe."

Once the silence was brought down between us I went back to the packet, but it was short lived.

"So Rune's gone to the Pit for target practice." he brought up.

"What about it?" I replied.

"Just thought you might like to know." Nikolai said before leaving my room. It wasn't like I didn't care about that little tidbit of information, in fact it was better to know where she was rather than going out and wondering about it.

Rune and I had a long history, we were basically brother and sister since her father raised me like his own son when my parents were killed. Of course when he was killed it affected both of us greatly, Ian was the best militiaman and the patron of Garrison as a whole. It was quite a blow to all of us in the outpost and since then everyone's had to do a little extra to keep up with his absence. Ever since his death though Rune's behavior has been a bit off, not in the way most people would think though. It seems like she never really got over it, almost as though a part of the grief is just caught up in her.

Every time we'd go out and hunt the Scavengers she'd show the utmost prejudice in some of the worst ways possible. Taking every risk to kill one of the alien bastards, stealing other peoples' shots on them, and even weaving through gun-fire to personally slit their throats. That's when I had to step in and put my foot down before she ended up getting killed herself. Now she's not allowed to hunt Scavengers, but she's allowed to defend from Snatchers. Even though she never said anything against it, probably because she knew it was good for her, it worries me that she's going to go when we're not looking and then...well, get killed.

I put the thought aside and went back to the packet, I had just a little more to do and then I could get back outside where I would hopefully be able to get in a patrol before we had to attend to the scientists. Sign on the line and I was finished all there was left was to get the patrol in and my main chores were done. I picked up my rifle and headed for my Duneracer, but not before being confronted by Takeo. He'd already done his work for the day but he was always the overachiever, asking anyone if they needed anything done before he turned in or just looking for something to do.

"Going out on patrol are you." he started.

"Yeah, guess you wanna come with, right." I replied. He gave a slow nod and I waved him to get in. He already had his sniper rifle on his back and jumped in on the other side without hesitation. We were off on the outer rim patrol with any luck we'd be back before Vega set, after all the previous patrols all had nothing significant to report. It would most likely be a quiet run with that in mind.


	3. The Way Things Go

_Nikolai_

Good thing it wasn't a large group of people we were training, but why couldn't it have been people with a bit more of a militant background like boy scouts or something. Scientists were the last people I wanted to help train to defend themselves from whatever lied beyond those walls. If they were really smart they would have trained beforehand or at least not do field work, but of course some people just didn't want to devote the time. To think I could have been getting drunk off my ass since there was no real need for a late night watch. Ah, vodka my good old Russian friend, it always helped me through some tough times, but Dempsey insisted I be sober for the training sessions. Chyort.

I didn't like the looks of any of them, especially not the one with the scar down his face, ugh. He was the one that Dempsey had told me was the one to watch out for, he said that he wasn't right in the head. I hadn't even got to know the guy and he looked the part of a madman, probably worse than Rasputin himself. His boss didn't look any better except for the fact that he didn't have a shady scar on any part of him, that I could see anyway. If I had my way I never would have let any of them set foot in the outpost or on Agria for that matter.

"So, how's Agria been treating you so far?" Dempsey started a little easy-going. That was sure to change, if I knew Tank well enough this would in a drill sergeant's seminar with the real pussies crying in the corner. The one who actually answered him was the youngest looking one of them all, he was sure to be one of the cry babies.

"So far so good." he answered a little weakly.

"All right then, no one else wants to tell me how things have been? That's okay, I know it must be a little different being in such an impoverished outpost like this."

The female scientist raised her hand like a student in a classroom does, Natalie was her name if I remembered correctly.

"This outpost...you guys wouldn't happen to have connections to any larger outposts would you? Like New Tokyo or someplace like that." she asked.

"Sorry Ms. Hartlin we don't, but rest assured if it's necessary we'll drive to the required locations." Rune answered. If the girl would have done some research on the place beforehand she would have known that we don't have teleporters or constant aerial transport. A bottle of vodka was sounding better and better with each stupid question they asked.

Once they finally got their fill of the thousands of inconveniences of being in an Outer Rim outpost it was time for the good stuff. The look on Tank's face changed almost instantly once it got quiet and the atmosphere of the room began to match his expression.

"I know that you've all heard of the notorious Dukni, right? Of course you have they're the ones who bombed this planet, but they didn't stop there." he began the seminar. The Manjurian, Takeo, came in from the storage room of the barracks mess hall with a giant alien skull in his hands.

He put it down on the table in front of us, the skull made the thick plastic table cringe with it's weight and it seemed to have the same effect on the scientists too. They stared at it with wide eyes and fearful hearts, they probably had no idea what it belonged to either, but they would soon enough.

"This little souvenir is from one of the biologically enhanced mutant creatures on this planet, and it makes it's home in this area of the Serna Highlands. We like to call it a Super Swarmer, or for you guys it goes by a different name that I won't even attempt to pronounce. This thing and it's little brothers and sisters are outside of the walls of this outpost waiting for someone unfortunate enough to come close for it to hunt." Dempsey explained.

"They get that big?!" the young one gulped.

"What this thing," I chuckled pointing to the skull, "that's not even an adult, this is a baby Super Swarmer."

His skin turned almost as white as a ghost and he sunk into his seat; he was definitely going to be crying before this seminar was over.

"Nikolai here is right, this isn't even a full grown Super Swarmer. You all have seen the Duneracers right? Well picture those things and then take it and make it bigger by about two feet in length and another foot in height and you've got yourself one of the meanest things on the planet." Tank resumed.

The looks on their faces was priceless, but the two older ones seemed to be used to these kinds of things. Maybe what came up next would surely put them in the same state as their other colleagues.

"If you think that's scary, you've got no idea. An alpha Super Swarmer is just one of the biggest things on this planet, and in the area of the Highlands." Rune prepped.

"That's right there's only one other thing out there that I can truly say outmatches the Super Swarmer..." Dempsey paused and took a good long look at the crazy one.

He'd been sitting in his chair the whole time and hadn't even been fazed the slightest with anything Tank had said. If I wouldn't have had the shit beat out of me for starting a fight with him I would have done it right then and there.

"If Death would have a pet what do you think it'd look like?" Dempsey questioned in general. Of course he wouldn't get an answer from anyone, most of them were about to piss their pants as it was.

"Let's just say it'd look a lot like Satan fucked a dragon and that crossbreed grew up to be thirty feet long, and at least sixty feet high on it's hind legs."

The Reaper, a beast so incredibly terrifying it even made me, the Red Menace, shiver in fear. I'd only seen that thing in holographic demonstrations as a child in Russia and I didn't plan on ever seeing one in person. You could smell the scent of fear in this room and they hadn't even gotten to see the model of it yet. They were in for one hell of a scare and I was all to eager to get it started. This had to get the better of the two older scientists, it just had too.

I passed a quick glance at Tank and he did the same, it was the signal and I was ready. A quick flick of the wrist was all it took to set up the holographic projection from the back of the room. All of us militiamen took pride in our little trinket, specially set up for training (and sometimes entertainment), "gifted" to us from the Dukni. Even the hologram of the Reaper was enough to make my hairs stand on end, and as soon as the growls emitted from the hologram the fun began. The fake Reaper made a beeline for the group from behind and the first one to look was of course the young one.

I couldn't help but laugh whenever he screamed and caused a chain reaction with at least two other scientists. How they managed to get this far in life was beyond me I mean come on, they had to know it was a hologram.

"That's enough Nikolai." Dempsey gave me a stern glare and I stopped my well earned chuckles. Of course the two I wanted to actually get a little jump out of didn't even so much as raise an eyebrow. If they saw the real thing their attitudes would change real quick.

After another thirty minutes of the briefing it was finally over and I could finally get to my old friend. Ah, I hadn't been able to drink in nearly a month now with all the Dukni activity but with the sudden quiet it was the best time to get drunk before they came back. I kept my stash of vodka in a chest I'd placed underneath the floorboards of my room in the barracks. Those clear bottles full of equally clear liquid called my name and I was by all means obligated to empty each one of them. If Tank found me passed out on the bunk he'd know exactly why and I could care less.

It was only just now getting dark so I had a whole night ahead of me to enjoy the inebriation. I guzzled down the first bottle as quickly as possible and then the buzz hit me.

"Now this is what I call some R and R." I mumbled to myself taking the first drink of the second bottle.

* * *

_Takeo_

I never liked peace and quiet around the outpost, it always preluded things much more horrible to come. Though it gave me time to meditate and relax I was never at ease with such times I was always wondering what was going to come after the calm. I was not only worried about what was going to come next, I was worried about having that group in the outpost with us. There was no doubt that they would have to do fieldwork sometime and that's when things would get tricky. Even with all the training we could give them there was never a guarantee that they could handle the things that settled outside the walls.

I could already gauge that at least one of them wouldn't make it back from this trip but from the demonstration earlier it might even be more than one. Such fools should never have stepped foot upon lands that were deemed dangerous even for the most seasoned of veterans. However, burying them would not be as hard as burying those who call this place home, in fact it might be by fate that they may be destined to die here. The planet may make an example of what happens to those who meddle in affairs too far beyond their reach. As for the rest of us I fear for what the scientists may actually be up to, deep within me I feel a great danger lingers with them.

Although having time to rest was essential for my body it was not meant for a soul like mine, the soul of a warrior. Home may have been comforting, but it was never enough to quench the natural instinct of my warrior spirit. What are those scientists really up to, and just why do they need to be so far out here to accomplish it? I grabbed my family blade from it's resting place upon the mantelpiece and unsheathed it. The shining steel of the ancient masterpiece of weaponry made me think of home, before the bombing.

It was gifted to me from my father, given to him by his father, and passed on by his father and so on. The blade was at least four hundred years old, but it still retained its deadly edge and vicious striking power. Upon the hilt was my family's crest, two linked circles intersected by two crescents and running down the length of the blade was an lightly etched dragon. When all else failed to bring me peace this blade would certainly do the trick with a bit of practice of course. I re-sheathed the sword and left my home for the barracks in order to practice with the blade.

Holograms were the only things I could test my skill on seeing that I'd taken out all the swarmer nests and there were no stray Dukni wandering around the area. Seeing as everyone else was either out inebriating themselves or getting some well deserved sleep the mess hall was empty and the tables and chairs had already been stored leaving the building open for my training. In true samurai fashion I programmed the holograms as ancient foes of my family, ashigaru, shinobi, and of course rival samurai. As soon as I drew my blade the first wave of ashigaru came out with their spears at the ready. The first to fall in the line was the one to my right, sliced open with a swift strike and the next was with a deep plunge of the blade through his midsection.

One after the other they fell and dissipated into nothingness, slain by my blade. The third and final wave of ashigaru came and failed to incapacitate me, next in line were the shinobi. Legendary adversaries of the samurai and just what I needed to really test my skill against viable opponents and not just grunts. They were quiet, almost noiseless, but with practice and a little bit of help from years of military service I caught one of them as he tried to plunge a kunai into my back. One thrust backwards and he dissipated into thin air, the next one threw his shuriken hoping to hit my arm. Almost without effort I dodged the deadly projectile and ran towards my unfortunate assailant.

The last shinobi fell with a swift decapitation, a fitting end for a fitting foe, but things were only getting started. Now I would have to face an equal opponent, another samurai fitted with the same weapon as I and with the same training as well. I walked cautiously to the center of the room and there he appeared, linked armor black as night and helmet of a demon's likeness. We circled each other our blades held out in the other's direction, he would not be an easy fight, just the way I liked it. We stopped and glared at each other with the same vicious intent to kill, behind that mask was a man like me, but we knew not the difference for in battle we were warriors made to kill without shame and without mercy.

We took off the sound of armor clanking and boots hitting the ground filled the empty arena of the mess hall. Just as I swung my blade he disappeared in an instant, the program had been disconnected and all I heard was the sound of splitting air as my sword sliced through nothing. I turned my attention to the doorway into the mess hall and there was Dempsey leaning in the doorway with his hands just coming back from disabling the hologram. I was not cross with him, if he had interrupted me mid-training it had to be something important.

"What is it Dempsey?" I asked.

"Nothing really." he replied. Now I was cross with him, if it was not something urgent he knew better than to disturb my training.

"Then why did you shut down my program?" I questioned keeping my anger to myself.

"Because, you need to just really relax."

"I am relaxing."

"Tak, training like this is not relaxing."

"To you it is not, but to me it is the closest thing to your form of "relaxation" I will ever get. Now leave me to my training."

He shook his head, but there was a smug little smile on his face, Tank was a light-hearted fellow when it came to it and he meant no harm from his intrusion, but he didn't truly understand my methods. But in all reality I really didn't understand his methods either; he reset the holograms before he left with that smile still on his face. I took a deep breath and exhaled and returned to the center of the room where my samurai foe appeared once more. We circled again with our blades focused on each other once more, and again we raced towards each other, but this time our blades clashed together. The sound of metal on metal was my equivalent to peaceful silence, and the sting of pain was my version of a relaxing massage. The warrior inside would never be put down and never be quenched and that is why I fought constantly, to please the warrior spirit and to honor my ancestors who blessed me with it in the first place.

Blow after blow, dodging strikes and slashes, dancing the dance of blades and death I finally conquered my foe with a resounding plunge straight through his chest. It was a delayed dissipation as the program registered that the holographic foe was indeed slain. With a moment of silence and meditation I re-sheathed my sword and left the mess hall my skills tested and reflexes sharpened. Full night had fallen upon the land and the chill air of the barren highlands threatened to make me shiver, but I did no such thing the heat of battle made me resilient. As it had made me resistant to the cold of the night it also alerted me to another presence in its wake as well.

In the building where the scientists were staying for their time here in Garrison there was one standing outside. He was dressed in the usual white lab coat which was unbuttoned for whatever reason, probably to let in the chill of the night take him. Despite the darkness I was still able to make out some of the details of the person and I realized it was the one that had gotten the attention of both Rune and Tank. It was Doctor Richtofen, and his venomous eyes were trained on me, I suppose he knew that I was also examining him. I was a good fifteen feet away from him, but I could still feel the air around me get a little colder around him in a sense.

There was a great evil dwelling within that man and it was plain for all to see, he was definitely hiding something from everyone. Whatever it was I wasn't too keen on finding out and as I passed the building I returned my attention to the direction of my home, but I could still feel the stinging of his eyes burrowing into the back of my head.

"Akuma no otoko." I muttered.


	4. Let's Just Get This Over With

_Rune_

"Nikolai wake up!" I yelled. The heavy-set Russian stirred slowly from his drunken stupor and I was about ready to just push him out of his bunk.

"What do you want?" he slurred.

"Time to get up, your patrol run is in two hours." I informed him.

"Ugh, patrol run, but Nikolai has headache can't someone else take over?" he complained.

That would be a probable solution, if just about everyone else didn't also have a hangover from last night.

"Nope, get up before I get Tank to do it for me." I replied and his reaction was almost instant, at least for someone with a hangover anyway. He was up and ready in thirty minutes, but you could definitely tell that he was not at his best. His eyes were still bloodshot and his normally trim beard was scraggly and unkempt. And to think I still had to get three other people up to get a patrol going.

I had to resort to cold water for two of the other three and they looked even worse than Nikolai did and they weren't even heavy drinkers. I reported back to Tank only to find out that we were still a man short, curtousy of some hangover vomiting from another militiaman. Dempsey was the only one left to take the spot seeing as Takeo was always on morning sniper duty.

"Guess I'm heading out then, Rune you know the drill." he said before going back into the barracks to get his rifle. If Dempsey was heading out I was in charge and there were no if, ands, or buts about it.

After they all packed into their Duneracers and took off I had to go and get dressed for my part. I hadn't had to wear my "formal" armor in a while, not for a few months at least when Dempsey and most of the others went out to take out an encampment of Dukni. My militia leader outfit was very different from Tank's, but it got the point across nevertheless. Dempsey's armor had two shoulder pauldrons, but mine had only the left one and it was quite large, enough to take a bullet with a bit of recoil. Everyone had a scarf along with their armor that was a given, and wrist guards that were stylized to their wearer.

My wrist guards extended down the entire length of my forearm and slightly overlapped with my hand guards. I always had a pack with me when I wore any of my armor and on its strap I kept my combat knife in handy (never know when a swarmer might sneak into the outpost). For a little more style I had a cloth wrap around my waist that made a sort of skirt past my belt. My boots were the last piece of the uniform and I grabbed my rifle and headed out of the barracks to patrol around in the outpost. For now it was just me until either the others got rid of their hangovers and woke up or until the patrol got back.

The pink of the sun on the horizon was just now showing and I turned my right hand over to where I could see the front of my wrist where my watch was.

"04:50 hours." I muttered to myself. It was a safe bet that no one else was up right now unless they hadn't slept yet. It was a quiet walk through the outpost until I was nearly finished with my second go around. There at the barracks door was the last person I wanted to meet with right now.

It was Richtofen alright, the scar on his face gave it away and as much as I wanted to just leave there and then I couldn't leave him at the door especially since he was most likely looking for Dempsey. I prepped mentally and started for the barracks ready to face this creep despite my nagging instinct to just turn tail now and leave.

"Can I help you?" I questioned. He turned his head in the direction of my voice and I could tell that he was a little confused.

"Vhere's Dempsey?" he asked, his German accent was very clear.

"He's out on patrol right now." I answered.

"Ah, so you are ze one in charge right now, ja?"

"Correct."

"I see, vell I have some papervork from Doctor Maxis zhat Dempsey needs to fill out." he said stretching his hand out with the papers in them.

"All right I'll see that he gets to them when he returns." I replied promptly, taking the papers.

He stepped aside to let me into the barracks, once inside I laid the papers on Dempsey's desk with the special paperweight to notify him that it was new business. I thought that was the end of it, but lo and behold when I came back outside he was still standing there.

"Something else you need?" I asked, a little more creeped out knowing that he didn't leave.

"As a matter of fact zhere is...if, of course, you're not too busy at ze moment." he replied. Good thing I was busy, but he'd probably come back later when the others came back and he knew that I wasn't up to anything big.

"I have duties to attend to while Dempsey's away. When he comes back I'll be sure to check in."

I really wished I hadn't said that because I swear I saw a small smirk on his face, whether it was real or imagined it sent chills down my spine.

"Very vell zhen, in zhat case I'll be expecting you later." he ended turning on his heel and heading back to Group 935's building. And I had expected this day to go quite well despite the lack of people on duty, and of course I caught myself counting down the hours to when the patrol would return. Whatever the crazy German wanted I could only hope it wasn't something terribly "unnatural" or unwarranted.

I caught sight of the dust cloud that always trailed behind the patrol in their Duneracers and now I was counting down the minutes. I met up with Dempsey at the gate and informed him that he had papers to fill out for the lead scientist. Seeing as that creepy scientist was probably keeping tabs on the time I headed straight for 935's building.

"Hey where are you off to?" Tank asked already going back to the barracks.

"That creepy guy wants to see me for something, and I kind of already agreed to see him so if you don't mind..." I answered and I saw him back off.

'This better be quick.' I kept thinking to myself as I got to the pass code locked front door. It took me a while to remember what the code was to get inside, it was the first time I would have to use it.

"4 8 7 5." I muttered under my breath as I entered the corresponding numbers. The quiet beep sounded from inside and the two metal doors slid open, separating the 935 logo on them in half. Surprisingly enough the first thing I could remark upon was the smell; there wasn't really one at all and I was half-expecting it to smell like some kind of chemical like chlorine or something.

I took a glance at the clock on the wall to my left as I came in and the hands read 8:23. Thankfully there was one of the other scientists awake and about when I came in so I wouldn't have to go off searching for Doctor Richtofen.

"Hey." I called out to him and he turned around. It was the youngest scientist, Simons and he looked like he'd just gotten out of bed (which he probably just did).

"Yes, ma'am?" he managed half yawning.

"I need to see Doctor Richtofen, where is he?" I asked.

He stretched his arms and yawned again before addressing me once more.

"He's in the medical room, third hallway on the left and first door to your right." he told me and I nodded and took my leave.

_ "Great the medical room, just where I need to be." _I thought to myself scanning for the right hallway and door. It wasn't too hard to miss it had a plaque with the words "Medical Room" stamped on it and a plus engraved with the staff of Hippocrates. The door was already opened (to my displeasure) so I walked in, albeit, very cautiously.

The doctor was occupied with a few files spread out on the desk and was studying them closely. I cleared my throat which got his attention almost immediately and he then acknowledged me.

"Guten Morgen, Miss Albana. It seems you kept to your vord about seeing me, dass ist sehr gut." he greeted quite politely.

"Yeah, so what is this for exactly?" I asked.

"It's a very simple matter, really. All I need is to document a standard physical exam for you." he answered.

It seemed a little odd that he'd ask me to do so first...then again I was the only militia member around at the time he asked.

"I'm guessing everyone else here is getting one too." I concluded.

"Zhat's correct, beginning vith the militia first, zhen ze civilians."

That seemed like a logical way to go about the physicals so without further hesitation I grabbed one of the chairs and let him proceed, despite my inner uneasiness.

Everything went by without incident, blood pressure, reflex, vision, respiratory, the works. The one thing that was annoying though was the fact that I couldn't stop, but catch myself staring at the scar down the side of his face. It started about an inch above his eyebrow and went down stopping just before becoming level with the corner of his mouth. Just before he began to take some of my blood for examination he spoke abruptly causing me to catch myself for staring again.

"I vas cut by a Dukni energy knife." he explained out of the blue. He knew I was staring and now I felt guilty for it.

"Sorry I didn't mean to stare it's just..." I paused unsure of what to say to get myself out of this situation.

"It's all right, I'm used to it. Even zhose I've vorked vith for several years still stare occasionally." he admitted not breaking his concentration on taking the sample. I felt a little better, but not completely and I now couldn't stop thinking about how he managed to get cut with a Dukni energy knife.

"So you were in a fight with a Dukni?" I eased in the question.

"Yes, a vhile back vhen I vas still in ze military. I vas on a mission und got into close quarters vith one. I managed to kill him, but I have zhis to remind me of him." he explained.

Once he was done taking the blood sample I was free to go and did so as casually as I could. Even though he had a calm, but overall serious demeanor there had to be something behind it and not just because he looked shady.

* * *

_Dempsey_

The paper work that I was left with from Rune wasn't too demanding, just a wavier saying that I was aware of the scientist's need for experimentation, fieldwork or otherwise. Speaking of fieldwork it wouldn't be too long until we had to train some of them in combat, something that I wasn't particularly looking forward to, but it was a deed that had to be done nonetheless. I could only hope that they weren't going to be too difficult to train, I mean they were scientists so that had to count for something. Of course some of them might be pacifists, especially the youngest one, but either way it was going to happen. Better safe than sorry is rule of thumb out here.

Today was a bad day to pick to train, on account of every other militiaman out with a hangover or with some other alcoholic ailment. Unfortunately it had to be tomorrow or never on account of Dr. Maxis wanting to get fieldwork done as soon as possible. After all his rushing to get the papers done I was getting the feeling that he and I weren't going to get along very well. Even if I didn't like the looks of any of those scientists I could safely say that the two oldest ones were going to test me in every manner of mental resistance, especially my patience.

"Hey Rune," I called out to her up on the wall, she turned her head to see me, "I wanna talk to you about something."

"All right, give me a second." she replied back already walking to the ladder. When she got down to the ground I ushered her to follow me back to the barracks. As we were walking back I caught a glimpse of that creep, Dr. Richtofen stepping out of the 935 building. Luckily he didn't take notice of us going by; it was best not to get any of his attention at the moment.

"So what was the whole deal with you and that creep anyway?" I asked as soon as we passed the doorway.

"He just wanted a physical thankfully, but everyone else is going to have to get one too. I just hope for your all's sakes that you don't have to have him check you." she answered shuddered afterwards. I nodded on her statement, I really didn't want to be around the guy anymore than I needed to, which was never, but she seemed to be getting the worst of it.

"How'd it go?" I continued.

She moved her hair away from her face in a quick motion and sighed.

"Fine, but still I don't like the guy. He's quiet, but there's just something about him that just gives me the chills. Like he's hiding something so morbid that if anyone found it'd be the beginning of Doomsday or something." she replied.

"Yeah, I got that feeling too."

"He did tell me how he got that nasty scar on his face..." she added.

I was caught a little off guard at the mention of him telling anyone anything about him.

"Really...? How'd he get it?"

"Said he was cut with a Dukni energy knife in close combat."

"Dukni energy knife?!"

"Yeah, I was just as surprised as you are, but if you've seen it up close it wasn't an accident that's for sure."

So the doctor seemed to have quite a history in the military, but fighting Dukni face to face, that's something I didn't expect someone like him to ever have been a part of. Before I could get anymore information there was a knock on the door behind us. Rune quickly opened it and standing there was Dr. Simons, the jittery and unfocused one of the science group.

"What do you need?" I asked the man.

"Um well, if it's not an inconvenience I'd like to take you, sir, to get a quick physical in order." he stumbled out. Rune gave me a quick look and then changed her attention back to the scientist.

"Sure, it's not a problem, so long as that one doctor isn't the one doing it." I stated.

"Oh no sir, it'll be me." he quickly informed. I wasn't too happy either way, but having the jumpy one instead of the creepy one do the physical was luck enough for me. It was best to get it over with quickly so I followed him back right away.

Inside the building it looked as though everyone was now awake and I caught myself bumping into the lead scientist, Dr. Maxis while Dr. Simons was leading me to the medical room. Dr. Maxis wasn't shady looking like Dr. Richtofen, but that didn't extinguish the feeling that he might have been hiding something too. Maxis had a well groomed beard that was white with age and it seemed to be compensation for his baldness. He wasn't overly tall either, I was easily three inches taller than the man if not more. His forehead was riddled with worry lines and under his eyes were bags from obvious lack of sleep over his lifetime.

"Ah, Sergeant Dempsey, here for your physical, yes." he started suddenly when he caught sight of me.

"Yes, sir." I answered.

"Gut, at least you're villing to do yours. Ze last three men ve tried to get to take it didn't show up. If it isn't too much trouble to ask could you at least 'motivate' them to come and do their physical?" he requested.

"I'll see that they get it done, sir."

"Danke."

The physical went off without a hitch and the blood sample wasn't too much of a stretch. Apparently from what Dr. Simons let out they were doing DNA research too during their time here. So long as they didn't steal any civilians or kidnap them to experiment on they were welcome to do whatever crazy science goal they wanted, so long as they didn't harm the civilians or cause any damages to the outpost as a whole.

"So...what's up with Dr. Richtofen? What's his story?" I asked Dr. Simons before leaving. He paused like he'd just been shot through the chest and then shook his head a little bit.

"He doesn't say much about what he's done, but from what I've heard he's had a harsh life. He keeps to himself mostly, but I don't recommend trying to befriend him." he answered.

I nodded a bit unsatisfied with such an unfulfilled answer.

"And what about Dr. Maxis, what's his deal?" I continued.

"Dr. Maxis is an old fellow he's seen a lot in his lifetime, he's one of the smartest men I've ever met, but he has sort of a temper and he's not very patient." Simons replied. The whole impatient part played right into his rushing to get all those papers finished.

"I see...well I don't want to keep you busy, you probably have stuff to get to." I ended extending my right hand. He reached out and we shook hands and went our separate ways.

On my way out of the building I passed by Dr. Richtofen, nothing was exchanged between us not even the slightest glance, but I could have sworn he was watching me somehow.

_"Creep."_


	5. When The Den Crows Fly

_Nikolai_**  
**

"Damn hangover." I muttered to myself. The sunlight wasn't doing anything to help my condition and with the constant breeze blowing dust into my face I was ready to snap. I fucking hated wall duty nothing ever happened on wall duty, but I guess it was a bit better than actually going out with the chance of never coming back again. Then again, there weren't any Dukni around that we were aware of for miles apart so going out now would be just as uneventful as staying on the wall. I sat down in the hopes that time would pass by more quickly allowing me to go to sleep sooner and rest off this hangover.

A sudden shot from the other side of the wall brought me back to my senses. I looked across at the men and saw the one who'd just shot his rifle.

"Single Swarmer neutralized!" he called out. I loosened back up and put my head in my hands just before the sunlight started glaring in my face. I was too pissed to care at this point and just accepted the fact that Vega was going to be a complete bastard to me today.

"Dammit Nikolai get up!"

Those were the first words I heard before I was kicked onto my side by Dempsey. I was immediately roused from my apparent nap and I was ready to tear the head off of someone.

"What the fuck do you want?!" I yelled back.

"First I want you to do your damn job, second get off the wall your shift was up ten minutes ago." he stated. I didn't say anything, but if I would have it would have only made things a hell of a lot worse.

At least since my shift was over I could go to sleep and hopefully get rid of this God awful hangover. Of course my plans shifted when I saw Rune sitting ominously quiet at the far table away from the bunks. Usually I would have just passed her by and let her skulk, but the look on her face told me that something was on her mind. I didn't want to be a completely heartless bastard all day so I went over and waited for her to take notice of me.

"What do you want Nikolai?" she said almost as soon as I was within arms length of her.

"You look pissed...what's the problem?" I asked suppressing a sudden pain from my head.

"Just go to sleep Nikolai. It's nothing." she insisted.

"I know better than that so out with it, what's the deal?"

"Dammit Nikolai, I said go to bed, I'm fine!" she shouted standing up to get her point across. Now I knew what her problem was; she was always like this when she was thinking about him.

"It's your father isn't it." I concluded. She sat back down slowly, defeated and angry among other things.

"So what...I've dealt with it before so go away." she stated. True she'd been in this state before, but she always needed a reminder that there were people who cared for her well being. We'd learned that lesson the hard way a year ago, when we'd almost lost her forever.

"You know I think I saw that one young scientist eyeing you once." I started, trying to get her to smile.

She didn't do anything, but that would change soon enough, I knew how to get her to laugh.

"Yeah, come to think of it I heard some rumors going around that he sneaks out of the building and comes around the barracks to see if you're here." I continued with the little story. There was a small smirk on her face now.

"I'm guessing that his next move would be breaking in through a window and watching you sleep at night."

"All right I get it." she finally spoke trying to cover up her chuckles.

"I think you should tell him you're not interested before he ends up stalking you around the outpost."

At that point she was truly laughing and trying to desperately cover up her reddish face. I had to join in, not only because it was one of the most bullshit stories I'd ever made, but because it felt good to get her to be happy again. After the laughter died down I made my way to a bunk to sleep off my hangover only to be stopped suddenly.

"Why don't you sleep in my room Nikolai, I think you'll need a lot more comfortable bed than that." Rune insisted now up from the table. I didn't want to deny her offer and potentially put her back in a sour mood so I changed my course and ended up laying down in her room.

Despite the faint smell of french vanilla scented candles it was a great relief to actually get some rest. This had to get rid of my aching head, if not I was screwed for another day.

* * *

_Takeo_

Vega had long ago set below the horizon heralding the light of the planets and moons surrounding Agria. Lowest in the sky was always Nura, a rusty orange gas planet that harbored a floating city housing the richest of the rich in the Vega solar system. Above it was Sypra a planet much like Agria in it's heyday, but full of poisonous plants and hostile animals that warranted caution and halted colonization long ago. Orbiting Sypra was it's only moon Cai and it was just like the Moon orbiting Earth, but with a slightly blue rock coloration. Last, but not least was Iris a dwarf ice exo-planet that was the true satellite to Agria.

These celestial bodies made their long journey across the night sky during my watch. I could not say I was not drawn to look at them occasionally, but of course I did have to keep my focus on catching any Swarmers or Dukni that would happen by. Many of the demons had fallen to my precise bullets and never known from where or from whom the shots fired from. I doubt, though, that they even had time to think as their brains were scattered across the ground around them. They had learned to fear what they could not see, but many still fell to my shots.

This night, however, like the one before was quiet, very eerily quiet. I did not like it one bit because many bad things were to come with a peace such as this. I had witnessed it in my old hometown too many times to ever overlook such quiet respites ever again. Vigilance was rewarded with preparedness, and preparedness was rewarded with protection. With these going hand it hand nightly sniper duty was a small price to pay to defend the outpost at large.

With things so uneventful my mind often tried to trick me into seeing phantoms of enemies. The occasional hallucinatory figure moving across the flats, shadows that looked like humanoids, I even began hearing noises that weren't even there. Such things happened when my warrior spirit was not sated properly, but the urges to shoot wantonly into the distance had to be suppressed. If not I would put myself in danger of being found by, not just Swarmers, but whatever Dukni surveillance equipment that was still in the area.

Nothing, not even the slightest sign of a hostile threat lied out in the flat lands and could not pretend there was one. I was disappointed that I was unable to strike down an honor-less monster such as the Swarmers. I packed up my rifle quietly despite the unlikely-hood of there being anything around to hear me. Just as I was about to make my way back to the outpost a familiar, yet unusual sound assailed my ears. To the northeast I could see vaguely the shape of a flock of den crows.

To a normal city-dweller such a thing would be passed off as just another occurrence in the outer perimeter, but to one such as myself this was anything, but normal. First of all den crows weren't nocturnal in fact they despised the darkness, second they never flew in a single flock of the size I was seeing. Normally den crows divided themselves into flocks of maybe ten to fifteen birds, but this was the whole colony in one mass of scraggly feathered wings and gawking beaks. They flew by and I was immediately worried of what exactly had caused them to so oddly flee their residence. It had to be as I had feared with this unnatural peace, it had to be that where those den crows had been nesting was where a Dukni supply bundle had just dropped.

I had to report back to Dempsey as soon as possible with the news so we could hopefully find the bundle before any scouts came to claim it. I ran back to my Duneracer and sped back on the faint dirt trails to the outpost. When I returned I could see that they'd already closed the gate and looking at Iris' position in the sky I wasn't surprised. I had been out longer than I should have been, but I was thankful that I had or else I would not have caught the den crows' omen.

I approached the metal gate and walked the length of it before finding the authorization panel. I rang the buzzer to alert the militia on duty that I was at the gate and it opened promptly. Now I had to find where Dempsey was to report to him about the den crows and thankfully I found him in his office in the barracks.

"Dempsey." I started. He looked at me a little surprised to see me, it may have been because I was out late, but that explanation would have to wait.

"Takeo, I was getting worried about you. What's your report?" he asked casually.

"There were no Swarmers or Dukni in the area." I reported as calmly as possible. He raised an eyebrow, his expression from one of casual interest to one of scrutiny.

"That's seems good to know, but judging from how you sounded there's something else I need to know." he concluded.

"Yes, on my way back I spotted a flock of den crows coming from the northeast."

"Den crows? They usually don't fly at night."

"That is what I was thinking, and they were all together not divided up at all."

His eyes widened a little bit at the realization that there was a high chance that a Dukni supply bundle had landed.

"It has to be one then, but we can't do much about it right now. It's too late and I don't want to be out when the Swarmers are active." Dempsey stated. I did not blame him for being concerned for the Swarmer aggressiveness, we'd had many militiamen injured and even killed from nocturnal Swarmer attacks.

"You do have to remember Tank, we have to start training those scientists tomorrow too." I reminded him. With that statement he slumped a little bit in his chair and put a palm on his forehead.

"Damn it." I heard him mutter to himself. We couldn't just leave this unattended it was a Dukni supply bundle and that meant within a matter of days a scouting party would land as well, then we would have a real problem on our hands.

"We could postpone their training." I suggested.

"No we can't do that, Maxis will be furious and the government will be on our ass about it."

"I'm sure we could call in a rittle military help to take care of this incident for us."

"That's true, but..."

He went silent for a while, the outpost hadn't called in military support for years not since the insurgence that claimed Ian's life. Tank usually prided himself on the effectiveness of the militia and our ability to take care of ourselves from Dukni interference.

"It will not be the end of the world if you call in a little help. They owe us, not the other way around." I urged him. He sighed and got up from his desk taking his card key with him.

"I'll call, but I don't want any misbehavior on our part when they get here." he iterated.

I was not worried the least bit worried for the outpost's reputation, but rather the military's. The closest base to us was a few miles outside of Eisenhower, and the soldiers there were not very respectful at all. When the insurgence came years ago we had no choice, but to call on their aid and after the Dukni were eliminated the soldiers insisted on staying in Garrison far beyond their welcome. They ended up causing damage to the Duneracers that costed well in the thousands of dollars and nearly wasted all of our food supplies. Their arrival here would not be a very welcome one, but it was necessary to avoid another Dukni insurgence.


	6. Let's Get Down To Business

_Richtofen_

"It seems we've gotten almost everybody in this outpost. Tomorrow we should be finished in no time." Doctor Simons cheered. I stayed quiet, not that I wasn't glad at the fact that the basics were over with, it was just that I was always quiet.

"And it looks like we got the paperwork done just in time too. It's about time for bed, how about you?" he continued. I nodded in agreement and got up from the desk I was sitting at.

I wasn't ready for sleep yet, I wasn't even the least bit tired it was normal for me to get less than three hours of sleep on a regular basis, but Maxis had insisted I try to stay "normal" for our duration on Agria. "Normal", I laughed at the mention of the word and how he'd tried to relate it to me, I 'd never in my entire life been "normal". My thoughts stopped there very suddenly, the past was not a thing to dwell upon especially mine. Just as I was about to head to the mess hall for a last minute bite to eat I'd happened to bump into Doctor Groph.

"Oh, Doctor Richtofen, odd seeing you leave at such an hour." he started.

"Ja, vell I'm actually just getting something to eat. I've been like zhat all day." I replied.

"I see, well I'll tell Doctor Maxis where you're headed. Wouldn't want him to worry about your whereabouts would we."

"Nein, he'd go ballistic if he saw I vas gone vithout reason."

"In that case, goodbye." he waved and we went our separate ways.

It wasn't too far into the night, but the temperature drop was staggering, I had to remember I wasn't on Mars and that Agria had long lost it's normal climate control. Thankfully the distances between buildings was a brief walk away in most cases and I reached the barracks in no time and made my way around it to the mess hall. To my misfortune, however, the doors were locked even the back one was bound.

"Scheisse..." I muttered leaning my head against the double doors. I just wanted something to eat, but it seemed I wouldn't even get that luxury. That was until I was met by the same unfortunate militia member walking around just like I had been.

Miss Albana seemed to be locked out as well, and I would have thought she'd have a key to get in seeing that she was second officer.

"Are you kidding me? Dammit Dempsey I told you to keep the doors unlocked." she spoke to herself still unaware of my presence. I thought to myself whether it was wise to make myself known, no one here trusted me in the least and they sure as hell didn't want to be anywhere near me. Just as I was about to leave I was caught before I even reached arms length away from the mess hall.

"What the hell are you doing?" she questioned acidly.

No point in trying to avoid her now, it was best to come out with my peaceful intentions. I was about to speak until I heard a familiar growling noise from her. She quickly clutched her stomach and tried her best to cover her embarrassment.

"It seems you und I both came for ze same reasons." I chuckled.

"You came here for food?" she asked surprised.

"Ja, you may not think it, but I'm human too." I retorted.

She scoffed and regained her strong posture eyeing me with scrutiny like I was a child who'd just lied to their parents.

"Let me get my spare key and you can get in." she sighed with a hint of frustration. At least I would get something to eat, but I'd have to do so with the unwelcome glares of Miss Albana. I couldn't say I blamed her, if I were in her position I'd be leery about myself as well.

I felt like a rat scrounging around for the tiniest scraps to eat, there was barely anything left in the mess hall itself. Not even the kitchen yielded anything that could pass for a small snack.

"Your men go through food thoroughly vell don't zhey." I commented, closing the third refrigerator I found.

"Yeah, they're pretty hungry even if they don't find any Dukni or Swarmers to kill." she replied leaning against the wall near the door to the kitchen. Just before I began to search through the cabinets there was a quick shot of pain in my head.

Instinctively I touched my forehead, I guess I would have to take my medication without any food. I gave up on looking for something to eat and went straight for a glass to fill with water.

"What are you doing now?" she asked. I didn't answer her, the medication came first unless she wanted to converse with someone completely insane.

"Hello?" she insisted. I held up my index finger to signal her to give me a moment.

I could clearly hear her sighing in annoyance as I took out the two pills I needed and swallowed them down as I drank the water.

"Oh right, your meds...forgot about that."

"I vould have thought you'd remember, zhat is, after all, vhat you're all afraid of. Is it not?" I stated. She didn't reply, most likely out of pride.

"So are you done here?" she asked.

"Ja, I'll be on my vay."

I left without anymore encounters I didn't anticipate which was to everyone else's benefit and not mine. Back inside of the 935 building no one else stirred for the rest of the night due to them still getting used to the change in time and the advent of basic training due anytime now. I was alone with my thoughts in absolute quiet, only the sound of my deliberately light footsteps echoed in the hallways. For most of that night I spent my time working on my sketches of weaponry that I hoped would one day grace the battlefields, unfortunately only one of my many weapons had ever seen production of any kind. It was one of my early creations, the Ray Gun as it had been dubbed, a weapon that I'd seen many times in my dreams and it had come to fruition many years ago.

The one I had made was the old model now and they stopped making them late into the Dukni War and replaced them with new and improved models now in the form of fast firing assault rifles. Not to say that I didn't approve of the new design, but I didn't make it another scientist did the improvements, a major hit to my ego. Of course, I'd submitted other weapons as well, but they had yet or have never seen the light of production. Those they rejected I kept to myself and worked on them to suit my needs, my favorite being the Tesla Rifle. Many military corporations had rejected it because of the obvious concerns for friendly fire, self-harm, and unnecessary death caused by soldier inadequacy, but I digress.

So now it stays with me anywhere I go as I make improvements and customize it for myself seeing as no one else will ever use it.

* * *

_Rune_

"All right you egg-heads listen up!" the rough call of Dempsey's training voice echoed through the expanse of the Pit. I was on his right side with Takeo to my own right and Nikolai was on his left. All of our rifles were at ease and we scanned over the scientists who'd been provided the rough remains of Garrison's training armor and equipment. They were all fairly attentive which was good, for now at least.

"This is day one of your week of training. You pay attention and do what when we tell you to do and you'll do fine surviving out in the field without our presence." Dempsey continued once he had everyone's attention.

The scientist's weren't actually the only ones there, a few of the militia's less than capable members were here too. They'd been put with their training as a form of embarrassment, agreed upon by Tank and myself with a little urging from Nikolai. The awkward militiamen didn't say a word, and by their looks it was because they were either too scared to say anything or too embarrassed to speak out against their placement.

"So, you'll all be separated and placed at the specific stations here in the Pit. You'll be divided into four groups and sent to your stations along with your group leader who I will assign after you all are separated." Tank informed.

He silently counted the number of trainees as did I.

"Twelve, Dempsey." I quietly counted off to him and he nodded satisfied with the even number.

"You three," he pointed to Dr. Simons and two militiamen next to him, "you're group one, you'll be doing basic weapons training."

The young scientist visibly cringed as did the militiamen, but not a word was spoken.

"Dr. Hartlin, Dr. Groph, and Tyvers you'll be group two at basic survival."

Dr. Groph and Dr. Hartlin didn't seem too decimated by their assignment, then again they were obviously together and that made them happy.

"Dr. Schuster, Pvt. Uller, and Minster you all will be in group three and you'll be assigned to identification training."

They were indifferent to say the least, now it was down to the last three, two of which didn't seem the least bit surprised by their pairing.

"Finally, Dr. Maxis, Dr. Richtofen, and Cpl. Hunts are group four and you'll be assigned to melee training."

I could see Dr. Richtofen's eyes glint with anticipation and I shuddered internally.

The man did have a heavy military background, and I didn't want to be the one to get caught in some kind of flashback episode due to the training. Dempsey cleared his throat to speak again, this time it was group leader assignments, of course we all had a good idea of which stations we'd be overseeing.

"Group one will be supervised by Cpt. Masaki." Tank informed. Takeo walked to his group of misfits and scanned them slowly and analytically.

"Group two will be supervised by me, Sgt. Dempsey." he stepped up to his own group and Tyvers immediately saluted which Tank dismissed him.

"Group three will be supervised by Ms. Albana."

I took my proud place in front of my group of Schuster, Uller and Minster.

"And group four will be supervised by Sgt. Belinski." Dempsey finished with the bulky Russian taking his place in front of his group with clear pleasure.

"You better not hurt 'em Nikolai." Tank humored him.

"Ha! No promises Tank." Nikolai returned. Dr. Maxis didn't seem so amused, but Richtofen was actually smiling, _fucking smiling_, like he knew something we didn't. Just what was he so keen on that we weren't surely he didn't think he could take on the six foot, one hundred fifty some-odd pound giant that was Nikolai.

Before I could get anymore in depth Tank dismissed us to our stations, but luckily I still had a good view of the melee training.

"Remind me again why I'm here?" Uller questioned acidly. I turned as if on cue and looked him in the face with a solid glare.

"Because you misfired your weapon on a friendly militiaman, because you can't keep awake during your shift, and because you can't shoot worth a damn! You were told exactly why by Sgt. Dempsey two hours ago and yet you still have to ask." I replied.

He shut up quickly and the other two cast mixed looks at him, not sure whether to be sorry for him or to shun him.

"Get it together, I need you all to pay attention. Now, you're going to be shown silhouettes of common animals, creatures, and humanoids that appear in the highlands." I instructed them prepping the holographic projector.

"What's the passing grade for this test?" Schuster asked stroking his light brown goatee.

"Get twenty of the thirty shown and you pretty much pass; fail and you'll do it again tomorrow and onward until you get it right." I answered him and he nodded satisfied with the odds.

I flipped the projector on and the first foggy, and blackened silhouette came out and I pointed to Uller.

"Pvt. Uller you're up first." I ordered and he looked for a moment.

"Alpha Swarmer..." he answered.

"Correct." I changed the image and another one came up this time it was humanoid looking, but motion blurred. He took longer this time.

"Human." he answered.

"Militia, civilian, or military, Uller." I reminded him of the classifications.

"Shit...militia." he obviously guessed, but nonetheless passed.

"Correct."

He breathed a sigh of relief, and for the next eighteen he was hit or miss, failing miserably on the last one which was a Dukni Snatcher motion blurred and blackened out.

"All right Pvt. you made the cut on visual identification, but you've still got verbal to go so don't get comfortable." I told him and he didn't seem so intimidated by the verbal test. I reset the projector and it randomized the holograms for the next trainee.

"Dr. Schuster, you're up." I called out to him and he snapped out a daydream.

"Hmm?" he looked at me unaware of what I'd just said. I wanted to lash at him, but he wasn't one of the militia so I let it slide.

"You're turn Dr. Schuster, get to it."

He stood at the line and looked at the projection point and I started up the test again. The first hologram hadn't even solidified and he blurted out an answer.

"Civilian." he answered quickly. I had to look back at him and then at the picture, he was impressive.

"Correct."

I set up the next one and just like that he got it again in mere seconds.

"Infant Swarmer."

"Correct."

He was quick and accurate, he had me amazed it was almost as though he had some kind of clairvoyance. Then the last one came up, a Reaper motion blurred, foggy, and blackened. He actually hesitated, but it was only slight.

"Reaper." he said with a finalizing tone.

"Correct," I answered as I randomized the projector again, "damn, thirty for thirty and in record time."

"It was nothing really, I was noted in my university for my memory and recognition." he replied.

They were right for recognizing it, it was just plain incredible. I felt bad for doubting him in anyway, but this was just identification he'd have to be consistent with the other three stations.

"Minster, let's go." I called after the machine had randomized. I didn't even have a chance to start his test when I heard the familiar cursing of the huge Russian at the melee station.


	7. Over In The Blink Of An Eye

***Danke, 115 mein freund, for fervently following my story as I have for yours. And for all of you who haven't read 115's Will of the Ancients go and check it out (or I'll get Doctor Richtofen to "persuade " you to do so), JK! Anyway I hope you all are enjoying this little work of mine, I know that I enjoy writing it. So without further ado I give you the next installment of The Wastelanders!**

_Dempsey_

"Fucking hell!"

Nikolai shouted from the melee station, I turned to see what all the commotion was about. As I did Dr. Hartlin accidentally cut herself with the knife she was using to skin off the spines of a Bolla fruit.

"Ah." she gasped and immediately put the cut finger to her mouth. I quickly addressed her wound and took off for the melee station where Takeo, Rune and their groups were already surrounding.

"All right, back it up! What the hell is wrong with you Nikolai?!" I shouted.

Once I got a good look at the situation I could see why the man was so pissed. He had blood running from his nose all the way down to his chest.

"He fucking broke my nose!" he screamed ready to pounce on the scientist who'd just injured him. Dr. Richtofen was on the other side of the makeshift ring rubbing his knuckles like breaking Nikolai's nose hadn't done anything to him. I had to admit I was thoroughly impressed by the guy, but still he'd broken his nose and this wasn't a death match.

"What's your deal Dr. Richtofen?" I addressed him. Dr. Maxis called from the outside of the ring.

"Your Sergeant there provoked him. He basically asked him to do it." Maxis explained. I wasn't convinced and went straight for the psycho at the other side.

"I asked you a question? Why'd you go and pull a stunt like that?"

He looked up from his hands with his venomous green eyes trained on me; I wasn't fazed by his attempt at intimidation.

"Why don't you ask your comrade there if he'd like to explain. I only did what I was told." he answered. If I wasn't going to get a straight answer from the doctor then Nikolai was the only source of information.

"Nikolai, what the hell happened?" I asked. He glanced over at Dr. Richtofen before giving his piece of the story.

"That bastard broke my nose." he stated.

"Obviously," I growled, "why did he do that? Did you ask him to?"

"...A little." he finally admitted.

"Well why the hell did you do that? You knew the guy had military experience and yet you..."

"That's no military I've ever fucking seen!" he yelled turning away and leaving the ring to get to fixing his broken nose.

I turned back to see Richtofen staring at Nikolai as he left; if looks could kill Nikolai would be dead four times over. Just what kind of move did he pull off that would piss him off so much. Nikolai wouldn't get mad over a broken nose, he'd had plenty before in fact if anything he should have been impressed with Richtofen. I went back over to the disgruntled scientist who looked at me with the same venomous glare as before.

"Just what did you do to break his nose and piss him off so much?" I asked calmly.

"I just did a little trick zhat an old friend of mine taught me." he answered without so much as a hint of anger in his voice.

"Must have been some friend."

"He vas..."

He went quiet and his head began lowering to the ground, like he was remembering something terrible.

"Well, I'm not angry with you, but I'm not saying you can do that again. Next time Nikolai asks you to do something when he's angry, just do something to put him in his place that doesn't involve broken bones and such. Alright?"

"Ja." he answered his head still lowered to face the ground. I looked out at the crowd that had gathered and motioned my hand for them to leave.

"Get back to your posts! Everything is fine." I ordered. Takeo and Rune wasted no time in getting their groups back to their proper stations and mine slowly wandered back to the survival station. Dr. Maxis and Hunts lingered even when Richtofen and I left the ring I had to tell them to go back to their stations until Nikolai came back.

In the meantime I went back to take care of my job, and it wasn't until everyone else was done with their stations that Nikolai came back. There were still small bloodstains on the fabric of his uniform, but most of it was cleaned off and his nose was healed curtousy of the military nanobot count. Since everyone else was done I let them all watch as Nikolai's group went over melee training. Dr. Maxis was decent, he wouldn't be able to stand toe-to-toe with a Dukni, but he could probably fend off a drunken street brawler. Hunts was better and managed to knock Nikolai off his feet.

Dr. Richtofen sat out on his other turn with Nikolai which benefited them both in a way. We didn't need more bad blood to come into the outpost. The doctor's mere presence had already set most people on edge, hell even his colleagues were still afraid of him. I wasn't usually the nosy type, but I just wanted to know just what the hell did he do to deserve all that fear? And also just who taught him a move to take down a guy that could easily flatten a guy like him by sitting on him?

Just as we were ready to head back to the outpost a military armored truck came down the path into the Pit. Two men decked out in full Terran Ground Forces armor came out and started for me.

"What's the report on that Dukni supply drop?" I asked.  
"Taken care of sir, but you may want to take a look a something." the man on the left answered.

"Just what do you want to me to look at?"

"One question before you do. Dukni don't usually launch heavy weaponry onto Agria do they?" the one on the right asked.

I was curious of why they would ask a question like that, but then it hit me; They brought heavy weaponry on planet.

"No, and I don't know why they'd start now." I replied. The soldier on the left signaled the other to bring out the weapons. Sure enough there they were plain for all to see. Type 2 Disruptor Cannons, and Tier 3 Buster Bombs.

"Holy hell, those are for city sieges. Just half a charge of a Tier 3 Buster Bomb would obliterate nearly half of the outpost walls." I commented.

The soldier who'd carried the weapons let a soft chuckle and took a glance at the trainees.

"I don't think they were meant to siege your outpost Sergeant Dempsey." he replied.

"Then what are they here for?"

"If I had to guess I'd have to say it's for a more high value target."

"Like where? Eisenhower?"

"Maybe, perhaps even our military base, but if another supply drop comes in with this kind of ordinance you need to notify us immediately."

With that they packed up the confiscated Dukni weaponry and set off on the path out of the Pit. At least the military was out of the outpost, and in record time, usually they would stay overnight, but I guess they had other things to do other than mooch off of Garrison for hospitality. As soon as all the trainees and all the stations had been cleared everyone hauled into the Duneracers and we were on our way back to the outpost. It was almost sunset when we got back, and I was sure that everyone was ready to eat and get to bed.

It was nice to get some food in my stomach after a long training day, and to think we still had to do at least five more days of this. I was just hoping that nothing else "exciting" happened whether it was Dukni related or not... unfortunately as soon as Nikolai got up from his seat not even half done with his meal I knew that that wasn't going to be the case.

"Nikolai..." I mumbled. He didn't pay any attention to me and I glanced over at his plate and then back to him and I saw the trademark bottle of his precious vodka.

"There he goes." I said to myself.

"He's always rike this when he's drunk." Takeo stated apparently hearing my own statement.

Sure enough he was heading for the one man who'd slighted him today. This wasn't going to end well at all.

* * *

_Nikolai_

_ No one gets away with pissing me off. He's going to learn a lesson the hard way._

That was the only thing I could think about, it was all about how mad I was at that freak. I could hear Dempsey calling me to go and sit back down, but I ignored him. My mission right now was to exact my revenge on that creep.

"Hey, freak!" I shouted. He cringed a little where he sat, but he didn't say a word which made me even more pissed off.

"I know you can hear me!" I continued. I could see Dr. Maxis say something to him, but I couldn't hear it whatever it was he was saying.

"Hey you, I'm talking to him! Answer me you svoloch!"

"Nikolai..." Dempsey continued to call from the head table. His silence made my blood boil over and I was already towering over him. I was ready to get the drop on him, he wouldn't fight back... or so I thought.

It was hard to remember it was so quick, I didn't even get time to register anything that happened. The only thing I could think about was the blunt and stinging pain in my stomach that sent me curling over and then the uppercut that sent me backwards and onto the ground... then it was just blackness.

* * *

_Takeo_

"Jesus, hold him back god dammit!" Dempsey ordered. Dr. Maxis, Dr. Schuster, and Dr. Groph quickly got up to restrain their enraged colleague. I'd barely got to see what had happened, but I knew that he'd just taken down the burly Russian in one quick combo.

"Takeo, make sure he's all right." Tank called out to me. I responded immediately, not that I was overly friendly with the Russian I just didn't want to end up having another soul added to the Garrison graveyard.

I checked his breathing and pulse, they were fine.

"He's arr right, he's only unconscious." I relayed to Dempsey. He nodded quickly in acknowledgement and that's when I looked up to see Dr. Richtofen. When he'd attacked Nikolai I saw a grizzly visage, like an animal trained to kill any and everything, but now his face was filled with guilt and regret.

"Dr. Maxis, let me go." he urged his superior. Maxis apparently wasn't paying any attention to him at the time.

"Maxis!" he insisted more strictly. He finally let his arm go and the other two scientists holding him back did the same. Richtofen stormed out of the mess hall and now that I looked around I could see that all the mens' attention was drawn on us. Dempsey looked around as well and saw them all gaping at the split second spectacle that even I could only see for just a moment.

"Get back to your meals when you finished get to bed!" Tank ordered. The men, albeit very hesitantly, went back to eating and some even left, not even half done with their food.

"We need to get him in bed, he'll be fine I'm sure," Dempsey stated, "c'mon Tak. Help me with him."

I helped him carry the limp, unconscious body back inside the barracks and laid him on his bed. His room always smelled of poisonous vodka and I had to do my best not to gag at the heavy stench. As soon as we left the room and closed the door I caught the look on Dempsey's face.

"Were you able to catch any of that?" he asked.

"Only for a moment, he was very quick. Much more so than me." I replied.

"Then it's what I thought, he's got a reflex implant."

"Indeed he does, now he's even more dangerous than we rast thought."

Knowing that the doctor had a reflex implant made me shiver; he was improved in the same area I was, only implants were much stronger than enhancements and he could easily outmatch me.

"I'm gonna go talk to Dr. Maxis after everyone's done eating. I need to know just what other things he hasn't told me about his little entourage." he declared.

"It would be a good idea." I added. Now I knew something I could watch out for if I were to ever get at odds with the doctor.

Of course getting into a fight with Dr. Richtofen might not ever be a wise course of action. As much as I had seen today alone the very thought of that scenario was becoming more and more unfavorable. Even with my willingness for a challenge, losing my life to the likes of him was not appealing in the least.

With the mess hall cleared Dempsey had gone over to Group 935's building as he had said he would. Without much else to do, meditation and sleep sounded like the best plans for the rest of the night. Tomorrow was looking more grizzly with every new "surprise" the day had brought to us. I just hoped that for everyone's sake there were no more surprises from Dr. Richtofen.


	8. Code Name Leviathan

_Richtofen_

It was like Mars all over again, the local populace already against me and now I was singled out by the most rude means possible.

_Why did Maxis even bother bringing me here?_

"Edward!"

Speak of the devil, as I turned to face him I expected an angry seminar over my actions to my surprise I didn't see that infamous red face of his. He looked almost sympathetic, rare for someone with his temper.

"Ja, Dr. Maxis?" I questioned. He collected his thoughts before he spoke, a sure sign that he wasn't even sure how to approach me.

"Richtofen, you mustn't let him get to you. Albeit he was quite rude about his thoughts, but he was intoxicated." Maxis half-pleaded. He was defending the man who I was sure that I'd knocked out cold as though I would do something even worse next time. With all the years we've worked together he still thought that it would be _my_ doing to harm someone further than a quick knock out.

"Maxis I'm fine, you don't have to react like this. You know that I would never go that far." I replied.

"I know you won't, but..." he paused. I knew whom he was referring to and, I too, stopped for a moment.

"It's under control Maxis, I'll make sure it doesn't happen."

"That's what you said last time. Do you remember what happened back on Mars?"

I did remember, the images still stuck in my head, the cries still screaming in my dreams like I was cursed to live the rest of my life with that memory haunting me.

"I know what happened Dr. Maxis, but I promise you I can handle it this time." I assured him. He sighed and outstretched his empty hand wanting something from me.

"Your medication." he said. I instinctively pulled the dull orange pill bottle from my pocket and handed it over to him.

He opened it quietly and looked inside mouthing numbers as he counted the remaining doses left inside of it and then he resealed it and handed it back to me.

"We'll need to get it refilled before the month is over. I don't want another relapse." he concluded. I nodded lightly in acknowledgement, but I had a question gnawing at the back of my head.

"Dr. Maxis," I called just as he'd turned to go to his office, "if you are so afraid of a relapse, why did you even bring me along?"

He was quiet, contemplating the best way to say what he wanted to say to me.

"Because it's not just your smarts I need, it's your skills as well, and I'm not the only one who thinks so." he answered before going back along his way. That could have meant just about anything and just who else on this nearly desolate planet would need my skills? The question was going to drive me more insane than I already was, luckily the perfect distraction walked in to keep me from it.

It was Tank Dempsey, he was silent, but I could see him cast a minute glance at me. The well taught instinct to study him took over as I measured every single detail of him right then and there. The way he carried himself, his stride, even the way his eyes monitored his surroundings were all being caught. Little things like how he was taller than me, no more than a few inches and a small scar on his chin just barely peeking out from a deliberately unshaven shadow. The time I got of his eyes was most helpful into his psyche, he was confident, but there was something holding back some of it, a mistake from the past or a worry for the future.

"Where's Dr. Maxis?" he asked and I immediately ceased my habitual studying.

"In his office." I replied promptly. He went off without another word, but I could feel as though he had something else he wanted to say to me. He chose the wiser course of not saying anything else at all. I had a feeling I knew what he wanted Maxis for, and it was about me for sure.

_Why do I even bother?_

* * *

_Maxis_

"Listen Dr. Maxis, I know you don't like to get sidetracked, but for the safety of the outpost I need to know just what kind of threat your colleague Dr. Richtofen poses to us." Sgt. Dempsey requested. I was already tired and my blood pressure was already high from the day's events, it was better not to react aggressively to his demands. Even though they were quite infuriating I didn't really have a choice in the matter, it was either I give him the information or the government would.

"Sgt. Dempsey I'm not going to lie to you," I started moving a thick file containing information on local fauna, "Dr. Richtofen is someone you should always vatch closely."

"I knew to do that the day you guys came here. What else?" he asked.

"You should avoid asking him too many questions, and personal ones especially. Unless he opens up ze conversation you don't urge him onto ze subject."

"Dr. Maxis! I'm looking for specifics, I know that he's got a reflex implant, now if you're done trying to dodge the real reason I'm here I'd like to know more on just what kind enhancements he has."

I stopped and had to decide, I could defend Richtofen if I told him, but if he got his information from someone other than me... it could very well lead to disaster. He wasn't going to have a good reaction no matter who he heard it from.

"Ja, he has ze reflex implant, he also has a higher zhan military average nanobot count." I answered him directly this time. He seemed surprised despite the fact that he knew what he was getting into.

"You didn't see it, but Sgt. Belinski got a few good hits on him and zhey healed up almost instantly."

He stroked his chin for a moment and a glisten appeared in his eyes.

"Damn, he must have been in _some_ military operation." he commented.

"He was, but zhat information I can't tell you even if you asked." I told him. He nodded in acceptance of that fact, but he was obviously not done with his questions.

"So just how much a threat would he pose if he were to say... attack the militiamen, full go, no-holds-bar?" Dempsey questioned. I nearly shivered at the mere thought of having Dr. Richtofen go on a rampage on an outpost of such small stature.

"I could guarantee heavy losses on your side, even if you vere determined to kill him."

"So he's that jacked up is he?"

"Sgt. Dempsey, don't take it zhat way! Dr. Richtofen... his intentions aren't like zhat, he doesn't attack anybody unless zhey attack first. He's only defensive... he doesn't try to hurt anyone if he can help it." I cleared. His look of curiosity changed into a scowl of interrogation.

"Just why are you defending him so much? From what I've gathered from your other colleagues they're terrified of him. If he's so "dangerous" why bring him here?" he started piecing together my jumbled pieces.

"He's very, very intelligent, I needed him for my project here. He's ze only one I know who could help me in ze long run." I answered, hoping he would accept that half-truth.

"So the cons are outweighed by the pros then?" he asked.

"Ja, just enough to the point vere I could bring him here." I replied. He now looked satisfied with the information I'd given him.

"Just to be safe," he started again, and in my mind I cringed, "I wanna see the documents you can legally give me on him."

"Sgt. Dempsey I don't..." I tried to speak, but I was cut off with a swift hand motion.

"That's an order from the lead militia officer. Either you obey it or I'm telling your happy little crew back on Earth just what kind of shit your Dr. Richtofen has gotten into." he threatened. He had my hands tied there, I definitely didn't want to get called back to Earth so far along in my life's work.

"Very vell zhen, but don't expect a miracle. I have to check over just how much I can show you." I warned.

"Fine by me, so long as you do as I ordered." he said before leaving my office.

Once I was for sure he was gone I ran a hand through my graying beard and sighed in annoyance.

_Another headache to deal with on top of trying to keep Edward under control. Just what I needed._ I thought, but I had to remember this was all going to be worth it in the end. I would not have my life's work of research and dedication brought down by a simple misstep somewhere along the way. No I had done enough of them already to know how to get back on track again.

This would be no different from all the other times.

* * *

_Rune_

"So what'd he end up telling you?" I asked Dempsey as he walked into the barracks. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair and then stroked the short hairs on his chin.

"Not much in the way of new information, all he did was confirm what Takeo and I already figured out." he answered.

"Reflex implant?" I questioned.

"Yep."

"Well damn, let's just hope that's all he's got. No wonder Nikolai got his ass handed to him."

Dempsey sort of chuckled, but his expression went back into the mutely serious grimace. We didn't say much after that and it signaled us to go our separate ways and try to get as much sleep in as we could before tomorrow came with it's plethora of surprises. Unfortunately when I got into my room I couldn't sleep worth a damn. Something was bothering me and I couldn't place what it was, but I could guess it was about how Dr. Richtofen got his implant. They just don't put those things in just anyone or any soldier, he would have been in some deep shit to get it.

The curiosity got the best of me and rolled out of my bed and onto my feet which carried me to my self-built computer. It was a Frankenstein that was for sure, but hell could it run and there was no denying that. The holographic screen glowed brightly and then leveled out so I could see the desktop clearly in the still dark of my room. Not only was this an opportunity to get some information that I wasn't supposed to have, but it was also going to help me hone the skills that my father had taught me long ago. Of course last time I failed to get into a military database I had to make this computer as the last one had basically exploded (and I'm not kidding about that).

"Alright you son of a bitch, let's just see how much I can get on you before they catch me." I smirked, the light from the screen illuminating the small area of my room it was posted in. It always started out with the public website just to let them know I was browsing it, but when the encryption drive goes in and the net scrambler starts up it's time to work. You always had to be quick with the first step, the net scrambler would only disguise your location for so long and with the amount of practice I'd had over the years it was an easy trick to pull off. The lines of obscure code blotted out the website and I quickly traversed and de-crypted the coding.

Now I was swimming in restricted waters one wrong step, one wrong key and it was over and most likely that was it for my hacking days. The original public website faded into the code and from it's digital ashes rose the true military site full of coded lines and number matrixes that slowly coalesced into a basic black screen with the Terran Republic insignia smack dab in the middle. The net scrambler started it's course again, by now all the government knew was that I was lingering on the public website's homepage. It was another quick step to get in the correct line of text to find what I was looking for. There were only three options on the site and it was clear that what I was going for was in the "Profiles" option.

I clicked on it quickly and no sooner did it bring up the next slide of the site that I started to go for the professional equipment and tactics. The next things up for their work were the VX-12 Naga, a super encryption drive and ghost file remover and filler, and one of my father's belongings. A search and scan drive far ahead of it's time made by his own hands and modified more times than I could count. He'd code named it "Ogre" and despite the name it was quite subtle in it's job, instead of finding and taking out firewalls it would find the tiny cracks in them and slip through allowing for discrete and more efficient hacking. In addition I stretched out my already large screen to accompany the long lines of code that showed up.

All it took was two minutes flat to get past the code and find the hidden treasure that I was looking for.

"And here lies the heart of my suspicions." I muttered flicking the unnecessary data aside and collecting the things I needed. The random and garbled mess of numbers and symbols changed into legible words and text. The name "Special Operations Members" appealed to me and I started diving within it's depths.

"Jackpot." I smiled finding the exact name I was looking for, there in plain digital text was the name Edward Richtofen.

I was half-expecting there to be some kind of block on the information as there was with the rest of the site, but surprisingly there wasn't. I actually had to stop for a moment and make sure something wasn't wrong, but sure enough there wasn't a block.

_Just go with it, you don't have time to be nit-picky._

I got past my surprise and started taking in all the information provided to me from the site and copying it down with a basic drive. It was a rather big download too, usually it only took a minute for something like this to get done, but it took a tooth-clenching five minutes. Once it was done I quickly abandoned the site making sure to cover my steps with the Naga and making sure Ogre wasn't compromised.

Another two minutes and I was back on the public site with Naga and Ogre already taken out and the net scrambler shut off. All the government knew was that I checked out the job offerings in the Terran Ground Forces and I sat back in my chair and smiled. I exited the website and took out the drive that I had copied Richtofen's file on and put it on the desk. I examined it for any kind of unnatural corrosion and then plugged it into a different port and opened up it's contents. What I saw made me so angry I had to stuff my face into a pillow and scream into it.

On the nearly blank document was a single sentence that gained my utmost hatred.

_Code name__ Ogre, meet code name Leviathan._


	9. Deadshot Daiquiri

_Dempsey_

I woke up and got dressed as usual, nothing out of the ordinary there, but when I got to my office I saw numerous files and documents neatly stacked on the right side of my desk.

"Well, he doesn't disappoint does he." I mumbled to myself taking a seat in the chair and looking over the files quickly. I wouldn't have time to read them until after training and patrols which didn't upset me much, but I was pleased to see that he actually got the things to me. I wasn't even out the door when I spotted Nikolai half-stumbling out of his room with that look of vengeance on his face. I knew exactly what he wanted to do and I wasn't about to let it happen.

"Nikolai!" I called in a commanding tone. He looked at me for moment and then started for the door ignoring what he knew would be me holding him back. He didn't get far though and I effectively cut him off just before the door.

"Nikolai listen to me!" I commanded.

"Get out of my way Dempsey! It's the German I have a score to settle not you!" he yelled back pushing me out of his way and going for the door handle.

I got caught my balance easily and got a strong grapple on the huge Russian who tried to throw me off.

"God dammit Belinski! Listen to reason or I'll put you under arrest!" I shouted to the stubborn soldier. He was able to get me off him long enough to get out the door and onto the dirt street that lead to the 935 building. I got back on my feet and started to make a beeline for him and that's when I caught Rune's lithe form in the corner of my eye flanking him and managing to take him down to the ground.

"Get off of me! I will hurt you if I have to! I don't fucking care if I have to fight all of you this is between me and him!" the pissed Russian shouted trying desperately to grab Rune off of him. Despite Nikolai's huge size advantage he was no match for Rune and he knew it she could run circles around him and get him in weak points he never knew existed. That's just what she did too, I stopped in my tracks because I knew she could handle him on her own and if anyone interfered it would throw off her work.

Nikolai got to his feet again, but it wasn't even for five seconds before Rune made a running start to dive drop him again. He was put down to the ground on his back like a pillar of stone toppled over. It knocked the breath right out of him and he wasn't able to react in time to the strong jab to his solar plexus making him gasp for his now unattainable air.

"You were given a chance Belinski, now you're being given an order! Stand down!" she yelled strongly in a nearly masculine voice. It was over for Nikolai and I made my way to the two with handcuffs gripped firmly.

"Just cuff me and get it over with." he managed to choke out. I tossed Rune the handcuffs which she caught flawlessly while she got up off the downed giant. I brought him to his feet and she immediately grabbed his hands and put the rings of metal around his wrists.

"You got him Dempsey?" she asked me before retracting her hands from the cuffs.

"Yeah, you're good." I answered and she took a space to my left.

"Everything's fine folks, it's all under control! As you were!" Rune called out to the people who had come out of their small homes to see what the commotion was all about. I saw most of them slowly go back into their homes and a few went back to crossing the streets continuing their business. Nikolai hung his head and it was obvious he wasn't going to cause anymore trouble, for now anyway.

"Sgt. Dempsey, do you need any help?" one of a group of militiamen asked.

I turned to face them and gestured to Nikolai and they knew exactly what to do.

"He's staying in detention until I deem otherwise. You give him what he needs got it?" I told them.

"Yes, sir." they all answered simultaneously quickly hefting Nikolai in the right direction and taking him to the long gray building down the street from the mess hall. I had to give myself a moment to think over all of what had happened.

"Looks rike you had a handful." Takeo commented from behind me watching the group take Nikolai away.

"Who's gonna take charge of his station for training today?" Rune asked. I thought for a while, but my mind was still fluctuating.

"Cpl. Dean can take care of melee, he's pretty handy at it." I answered after a moment.

"Right, I'll go and get him. You need me to divide up for patrols?" Rune asked.

"Yeah...thank you."

Takeo took over Rune's position next to me and I didn't even have to look at him to know he was concerned.

"It is his own fault Dempsey. If I were making the decisions I would confiscate and ban him from his alcohol privileges." he said putting a hand on my shoulder.

"That's exactly what's going to happen too. I want you and two others to get rid of his alcohol and make sure you get all of it." I ordered. He took off immediately and I heard him shout for two other militiamen as soon as he got through the door.

As much as I liked Nikolai there was always that line he was expected never to cross and from what he'd done yesterday and today he'd gone far past that line. It was the same thing Ian used to do to him when he got out of hand with his drinking and it made him compromise everything. By now Nikolai was used to the routine of having his vodka taken away from him when he got too violent and he usually straightened out once he was sober, but this wasn't just a petty squabble with another militiaman. He was on a personal vendetta with Richtofen and it wouldn't end well for either of them.

* * *

_Takeo_

"This is the last bottle sir." Pvt. Uller reported holding up the clear, poisonous liquid.

"Good, make sure they're put back in storage," I ordered, "and I mean arr of them. If a single bottle is missing from the count you wirr arr rose your drinking privileges."

It was a good enough motivator as any and they scurried off with the few crates of vodka that Nikolai had stashed away over the years thinking we never knew about them. I never really liked Nikolai, but I have always been concerned for him. I have the feeling that one day that drink of his was going to bring him to his death.

From whom he was picking a fight with now I could see that death may have been closer at hand than I had thought. Hopefully a rude awakening would change his attitude on causing violence for visitors, then again... it was Nikolai, the most hard-headed and thick man I'd ever met in my life.

"If onry Ian were still here. He could put him in his prace." I muttered to myself.

"Redder, Heath, Olivers, and Bush, you're on patrol route one this morning. Move it, soldiers we're starting up late as it is!" I could hear Rune urging the men. The trample of boots followed soon after stampeding out the door and heading for the Duneracers. She showed up shortly after already in her training gear and ready for today's session.

"C'mon Takeo, we're already late. Better get in what we can while we can." she said before heading out the door herself.

Always on the task at hand, she was her father's daughter that was for sure. Even though I had only been here for two years it didn't take very long to know the people seeing as there were not many in the first place. Unfortunately my first year here was the most tragic, the year that Ian was killed. It certainly was not my place guilt on myself for his death, I'd done nothing wrong in that situation. It was a surprise attack, and it took a heavy toll on the outpost; I often wondered if we would have done something differently that day he would still be with us.

"Tak...?" I heard Dempsey call from the doorway and snapped from my thoughts and back into reality.

"Hai, I'm going." I responded quickly hefting my rifle into a more comfortable position and leaving the barracks. We all piled into the Duneracers and took off for the Pit, briefly passing by the morning patrol. I could see the trainees as we drove behind them, many of them were still groggy and their eyes were heavy with sleep.

_These men will never make it out here, no matter how much we teach them._

All the groups were rotated to different stations for today's training. Rune's original group was now at survival training with Tank, and his group was at identification, mine was at melee... so I got the best of them all. I checked over my group and to my displeasure Richtofen was missing.

"Where is Dr. Richtofen?" I asked, directing my question to Dr. Maxis.

"He went to go get his things for today." he answered me in a casual tone.

"Things...? What things?"

"His own rifle, something he's had for years. He won't part with the damn thing, not even on Mars did he leave it alone." Maxis explained further.

Even more things I had to worry about the Doctor, he was just a shower of surprises.

"Excuse my late arrival, I just thought I'd use my old rifle for zhis training." he apologized hefting a cloth wrapped rifle on his across his shoulder.

"If you plan to bring your own things to training do so earlier, Dr. Richtofen." I warned.

"Understood, sir." he replied, quite respectfully. He was acting nice, and I didn't like it a single bit.

He was a snake coiled, seemingly asleep, but get too close or fail to notice him and he would lash out and kill you with his potent venom. I hid my uneasiness and went straight into the basics; handling a weapon properly, rifles, pistols, shotguns, and even LMGs if need be made. My job was made much simpler seeing as they all managed to pass that part of the training with relative ease. I went over the lecture about aiming vs. hip fire, the what to do and what not to do when firing and then finally, after an hour and a half it was time for shooting. Now I would be able to see their potential and just how long they could fend off the hostile creatures of the area.

"Cpl. Hunts, demonstrate your shooting skill on the mid-ranged target at 3 o'crock." I ordered. He aimed down his sight and fired the old training rifle, sadly he was off by at least two inches.

"Did you check to make sure your sights were in line?" I asked him, holding my annoyance back. He cursed on his breath and went straight to checking the weapon.

"No, Cpt. Masaki." he answered.

"Then fix it and try again."

He adjusted the well worn knob above the handle and kept checking into the sight to make sure it was right. He took another shot and hit it this time; it wasn't a kill shot, but it would do when all you needed was to incapacitate the creatures. He went again with the pistol and then the shotgun doing both more easily than the rifle, but rubbing his shoulder after firing the shotgun.

"Damn, that thing's got some kick." he commented on the worn weapon. I said nothing to him and the other two did not return a remark either.

"Dr. Maxis..." I started. He looked at me with his sunken gray-blue eyes, they were faded with age as was much of him already.

"You will excuse my poor aim, I'm not as sharp-eyed as I used to be." he remarked. I expected nothing great from him, he'd more than likely die of his age rather than to a creature of the highlands if anything else. He did things accurately though, and with a modest quickness that I could admire for a man of his years. His aim was as he'd said before, it took him three tries to hit the first target with the rifle and twice with the pistol, with the shotgun doing him in indefinitely.

His turn was done, and we were well into three hours of training and at the part I now shuddered upon.

"Dr. Richtofen." I called, the man was all ready to go with his rifle. He unfolded the cloth with great care and underneath the dusty linen was a weapon the likes of which I had never laid eyes on before. Hand-made for sure and with parts of it glowing with alien energies as though it were a gift from a Dukni itself.

"What kind of rifle is this?" I muttered.

"Mein own, a veapon I've been modifying and upgrading for years since it's creation. A deadly veapon indeed in ze right hands, but from an unskilled shooter it vould result in catastrophic injuries of one's own allies. You look upon ze vork of mein genius, Der Tesla-Gewehr."


	10. The Coming Storm

_Richtofen_

Ah, yes the Tesla Rifle; a child of my mind's innermost machinations of engineering and combat. Tempered chronosium mechanisms straight from the mines of Ganymede, refined tungsten connectors and Martian copper. It was all there, I had spared no expense in making my child the finest it could be. The powerful surges of electricity glowed within the holding capsules on the right side of the rifle, but I did not plan to use them for this demonstration. They were for much more conventional and meaningful uses.

"I vould suggest you stand back a little more Cpt. Masaki." Maxis warned the Manjurian to my side who greatly accepted the advice.

"Danke." I said before aiming down the holographic sight. The rifle wouldn't fire it's pent up electric charges, I made sure that it would only fire actual bullets for this session.

"Your target is long range, nine o' crock." Takeo informed me. I was on it in no time and without a quiver in my body I shot and hit the unfortunate metal figure.

"A great shot, Dr. Richtofen, but you've still got more targets to go and more weapons to shot."

I smiled, I hadn't been able to fire the rifle in months I could care less about the pistol and shotgun, right now it was my child and I out for the hostile metal figments.

"Just tell me vhich one to shot next." I urged him, already scanning for targets. I could hear him scoff just behind me, without warning a target shot up and without the command ever needing to be said I shot and hit it.

"By my ancestor's... arr right German, you want a challenge? Then I wirr give you a challenge!" he shouted before a horde of metal targets popped in and out of cover coming to life like a battle memory from the past.

Ein, zwei, drei, vier; they could not escape me not even the Dukni could escape me. Funf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn. They were no match for me, they fell one by one the clank of metal shredding against metal piercing through the targets as the bullet contacted and broke through. I'd lost count and I could hear the protests of the familiar voice of Maxis trying desperately to overcome the noise of the shots and clanks of metallic barrages. Before I could register the targets had ceased to appear, my body was still pumping adrenaline, just like I'd been in a real battle again.

"Richtofen..." the Manjurian spoke and went dead silent as I looked into his eyes distanced away from my own by the length of the rifle to his face. An expression was non-existent, only a cold, stony face of neutral tone looked back at me. There was a gun to his face, and for a time I didn't even realize it until the adrenaline died down. We were locked in death gazes, eyes focused not on each other's eyes, but on each other's spirits. A gun to his face and he looked like it wouldn't even hurt him, like the bullets would reflect off of him and he'd leave unscathed.

"Stand down, doctor." he ordered in a calm and strong tone. I hesitated, adrenaline still only just coming down and I lowered my rifle slowly and kept it at ease. I could see Dr. Maxis in my peripherals as the tunnel vision faded and my surroundings returned to me.

"You are a very good shot I wirr admit. Now, I need you to take the pistol and show me what you can do there." Takeo continued, unfazed by anything that had just happened.

I was calm again, my heart rate going back to normal and my reason returning to me.

"Of course." I replied simply, turning and grabbing the worn pistol off the wooden counter after placing my rifle on it.

"Onry three targets this time doctor." he informed me. The pistol gave me no rush, the targets were easy hits, and easier so to take down. The shotgun was as I expected and what the other two had experienced.

Of course the shotgun was purposely made off balanced to train soldiers and militia alike to adjust and take the pain without complaint. In a combat situation it made sense, but unsurprisingly Dr. Maxis nor our militia group member noticed the design error.

"Outstanding work doctor. Perhaps even you could teach us a few things." the Manjurian complimented. He acted like the rifle wasn't even there, staring death straight in the face and he didn't even show the slightest hint of fear.

"You arr did fairly well, and this concludes our training today." he spoke ushering to the already prepped Duneracers. Not even the slightest cringe, there were just those solid, brown eyes and behind them lay a warrior of unparalleled worth. A samurai, as they were once called, a dead race now or so it had been thought. He walked their path, lived their ways, I could see it all in that brief moment of eye contact. I could not be angry with him, that was not my place nor was it correct to be angry at a warrior of his breed.

I could only respect and admire the sheer concentration, and determination. A trait that belonged to my old friend... an old friend who I felt as only yesterday we had just parted ways.

* * *

_Rune_

We were all packed into the Duneracers and ready to leave and head back to the outpost where the rest of the day awaited. I was sitting up front with Dempsey who was driving and Takeo was in the back along with another two militiamen.

"Well that looked like fun. Eh, Takeo?" I chided turning to see the cold Manjurian return his famous neutral glance.

"Indeed." he responded.

"Although I highly doubt you're rousing him up for the hell of it. You're planning something aren't you?" I instigated.

He gave me a solemn nod and fiddled around with his wrist-guards before saying anymore.

"If there would ever be a situation where it was necessary to put him down, I want to know just what I'm up against." he clarified. It made sense, from what we'd seen so far it didn't look like any kind of good could come of him at this point.

"Makes sense, but from what we've been seeing I doubt we'll even get the chance to draw our weapons before he kills us first." Dempsey chimed in. It wasn't often that Tank doubted our ability to handle threats so hearing this from him was a sure sign that we'd have to keep tabs on the doctor.

Just as I was about to say something I heard the distant rumble of thunder far to the south of the Pit. Instinctively I looked to the direction of the sound and sure enough a mass of dark clouds were creeping towards us.

"Looks like Smith & Weatherly to me." I commented.

"About fucking time too. They're late for this time of year...that or someone couldn't pay up for some weather control." Tank added.

True, Agria rarely had any "natural" weather, but due to the curtousy of the Martian corporation they had gladly set up shop on the once lush planet in an attempt to revitalize it again. It wasn't, however, always a fair trade, they still wanted payment in return for their services with giving the planet some weather stability and so the "Smith" part of the company would take some of the raw metals the planet had to offer on a yearly basis in return for some on-and-off weather control. Unfortunately, for the past two years Agria was becoming more and more reluctant to offer her inner bounties and thus we got weather control later and later each year.

"They keep up with this kind of late weather I doubt we're going to have any at all." I retorted, but it was better than nothing.

By the time we got to Garrison the clouds were almost upon us and you could see the rain from afar approaching slowly.

"Better get these things covered, apparently they wanted to offer us up a big storm." Dempsey scoffed already starting for the rain covers.

"Somebody must have pissed them off." I concluded watching the skies become swallowed by the deep gray ocean.

"Let us just hope they don't intend to frood us with this heavy rain." Takeo inputted throwing over a tan cover and having another man on the other side of the Duneracer pull it down. There had been times when the weather had flooded the area, it was horrible for the Duneracers because they were built for hard, dry terrain and we didn't have a lot of wet terrain equipment on hand.

"With this heavy of a storm coming I think it's best to hold off on the afternoon patrols so we don't end up getting the vehicles stuck in the mud." Tank suggested. No one had a problem with that logic so after we covered up the Duneracers we all rushed back into the outpost just as the first wave of rain poured down on us. It was safe to say that they planned to water-log us because after the first torrent of precipitation there was another not thirty minutes after it. A lot of us didn't like taking wall duty and going out in the storms, but it was a necessary job to keep the outpost safe. The one thing that made wall duty a bit easier when it rained was that there were no Swarmers out and about.

Swarmers absolutely despised rain, hell we'd captured one once and tried giving it a bath thinking we could tame the thing. As soon as that water got on his skin he was basically trying to eat his own flesh off to get the water off of him. It was an insight and a rather gory spectacle, but it wasn't like we'd gotten attached to the thing when we gave it that bath. Dukni on the other hand, it didn't even matter if it was a F5 tornado they'd be out there waiting for their chance to come in and take us out. All the more reason to be on higher alert because I got stuck with wall duty and man did I hate the rain.

* * *

_"Dad, why are we out here?" she whined, pulling her rain hood closer to her head. _

_ "We're looking." the girl's father responded eyes trained on the outlying land._

_ "For what? There's nothing out here, nothing out here likes the rain. I don't even like the rain." _

_ "It doesn't matter, we're still going to look even if that were a true statement we'd still look." _

_ She plopped on the still dry ground covered by the small plastic tent that rang with the sound of bullet-like raindrops. Her father was fixed on the water-darkened land outside of the opening, his rifle gripped firmly in his hands. The occasional gust of wind would blow his ragged brown hair in all manner of directions, but he was a sentinel hell-bent on making sure nothing passed out of his sight. Parts of his old, pitted armor were being pelted by the rain that managed to get into the opening and what little sunlight able to penetrate the darkness of the clouds reflected off of the wet metal. To a passerby he'd probably be mistaken for a masterful statue full with color and life. _

_ His daughter wrapped her arms around her legs and scrunched in her already small form. She was only twelve years old, her father only thirty-one, but he still looked as though he were ten years younger. It was surprising seeing as he had been fighting in the Dukni War it was expected that he'd look more rugged like most of the soldiers did coming back on leave. A strong gust of wind came in through the opening managing to blow past the young girl and push her hood off of her head. _

_ "Stupid storm." she complained._

_ Her hair was a darker brown than her father's and much more well-kempt, the right side of her face was covered with her long bangs which she didn't seem to mind. Her eyes were a deep ocean blue lit only by the faint light of the stormy outside world._

_ "Rune!" her father called hushed. She turned to see her father pointing out at a far distance near a cliff side. _

_ "What?" she responded. _

_ "See over there...?" _

_ She strained her vision to where he was pointing, to her she could only see small monstrous silhouettes. _

_ "There are Dukni near that cliff side. Now do you see why we're always looking. Even in the storms we have to keep vigilant. Look at what they're carrying." he explained. _

_ "I can't see like you can dad." she replied. _

_ "Right..." he paused remembering that he'd been enhanced for the war, "they've got sniper rifles. If they get on that cliff they'll be using our own tactic against us and we can't have that." he informed her. _

_ Rune's father aimed the rifle carefully, rain pattered on the barrel and pelted even more of him, but he was fixed on his targets. It was quiet, even the rain seemed to become muffled as he concentrated. They were quiet shots, silenced as to not alert any other Dukni that may have been in the area. The silhouettes went to ground quickly and they ceased to move, kill shots both of them. _

_ "We always look, because no matter what they'll be out there. Waiting for their chance to do to us what we do to them." he said before returning his rifle to the inside of the tent._

* * *

I sighed, it was raining just like it was all those years ago.

"We always look." I repeated to myself, pulling my hood closer to my head. I still wanted the rain to end.


	11. Decisions, Decisions

_Nikolai_

"Hey, Nikolai." I could hear a voice outside of the cell. I came up to the bars and looked around until I spotted movement. It was Dempsey coming with a plate of food for me, I didn't even think about how late it was, then again I'd been sleeping off the day.

"Tank...I'm surprised it's you and not some other man. Usually you're out on patrol this time of day, right?" I commented.

"It's storming, I'd rather not take the chance of damaging the Duneracers. Damn things are jerry-rigged enough as it is I don't want to have to buy brand new parts for 'em." he explained.

"I see, Smith & Weatherly are late this year aren't they." I continued. Dempsey shoved the plate through to my side of the bars and I took it happily.

"Sobered up yet?" he asked me in a slightly angry tone. It'd been two days since I'd drank, and it was a good chance that I wouldn't get another drink for the rest of the year.

"Da, I'm good." I answered starting on the chicken breast. He just nodded and pulled up a chair and sat close to the bars in front of me.

I knew what he was going to rant about, he was always trying to do what Ian had done for me when I did stupid things.

"I know you and the doc got off on a bad start, but you can't just go around picking fights with the wrong people." he started. The wrong people, what did that mean he was part of some gang or something.

"I'm not afraid of him, I don't see why you are. He's tiny, scrawny compared to me. Given the proper chance I could easily take him out." I replied.

"Nikolai!" he yelled.

I messed up again, I seemed to be doing that a lot, like an idiot child.

"It doesn't matter if you can take him out or not, he's a guest here...besides, it's best not to dig our own graves anymore than we have already." he went quiet.

"You say that like there's some catch to having him around. Other than the fact that he's a total psycho."

He didn't say anything for a while he just shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"I read some of the files on him, curtousy of Dr. Maxis lending them to me." he answered.

Were they really that bad that he'd worry for the safety of the outpost, and even for me.

"Just what _are_ we dealing with Tank?" I tried to ask.

"Unfortunately, I can't tell you. The documents were all classified, eyes only and can only be read with Maxis' approval which I got. So, you'll just have to trust me on this. You leave Dr. Richtofen alone, it's bad enough you've already stirred the waters." he explained. The look on his face was grim almost as though he were scared of what could be unleashed.

If Tank was this afraid of what lay underneath the facade of that scientist then it was truly best to let my anger go.

"All right Tank, you convinced me. I will not harm the man...but," I paused, "if he so much as lays a single scratch on someone in this outpost his ass is mine, repercussions or no."

He chuckled a little and sat back in his chair more comfortably now.

"You never change do you?" he chided.

"Hey, once a fighter, always a fighter." I replied wolfing down the rest of the food on the plate and belching happily.

"So how much longer until you let me out?" I asked.

"I can let you out tomorrow, but you're not going to be doing training anymore and your drinking privileges are revoked until further notice. If I, or anyone else, catches you sneaking a sip you're back in here. Got it?" he replied.

"Da, da. Just like Ian used to do, I got it."

"Good, cause we also confiscated all of your vodka while we were at it." he added.

"You what?!" I shouted.

"Well what'd you expect, you think we didn't know about the crates of vodka in the floor boards." he laughed.

It was at my expense too, but I kind of had to laugh with him. It was a pretty stupid assumption that no one would ever figure out where they were. It went quiet after we were done laughing, and it became a little awkward after a while.

"So... Rune's pitched in some suggestions lately." Tank said breaking the silence between us.

"Suggestions, what about?" I asked.

"About the militia and... well I can't say I don't agree with her on a certain level." he explained vaguely.

"Tank...? This isn't about replacing Ian is it... because I don't think it's a good idea. Especially with what you just told me. I mean training isn't even over yet, and you're thinking about it now?!" I responded.

"We need someway to fill in that void in the defenses."

"Tank, at least think about it a little more before you even truly consider putting him with us. I mean, I've experienced what he can do already and I don't doubt Richtofen could be handy in helping defend the place, but you know how I feel about it."

He stroked his chin and started getting up from his chair, putting it back against the wall.

"I know Nikolai, but don't get your hopes up about not taking him in. We need somebody, and he's the only one I've seen so far on par with Ian, at least in the experience scale." he said before leaving. I was alone again in the jail left to dwell on that bad note despite having been glad just minutes before.

"Chyort." I cursed.

* * *

_Maxis_

"Day Four: Another drab day has gone by; research is slow, the basic training is painfully dull and to top it all off that blasted fool Edward has gone and made a show for himself. Just what we need another repeat of what happened on Mars... but I don't think it's all his fault. I checked his medication the other day and from what I've been seeing he may need a stronger dosage to keep him in check. Another thing to add to my list of growing concerns, not to mention the DNA results from some of the militia, two in particular. They show great promise in their genetic structure, something our military employers will be pleased with." I relayed into the small cylindrical recording device.

These four days had been painstakingly slow in terms of progress within anything, excluding the DNA tests from the blood samples we took from the militia, but even then we had to wait until the training was over to get it really going. If things could go a little more smoother it'd be a god-send instead we were stuck with this terribly timed weather and just about everybody in the militia was paranoid of Dr. Richtofen. Had he still been that young student of mine I wouldn't have had any problem with punishing him, but that was a long time ago. Now I was beginning to feel as though I was long past my time trying to find the one thing that I'd spent my whole life tracking down. I had to remember that if I did succeed we would be rid of this Dukni menace and have an infinite source of which to draw upon to fuel humanity for eons to come.

I sat alone in my chair, my thoughts overlapping each other sometimes clearing enough for me to remember that I had other things I was doing this for. My daughter, Samantha, who was still on Earth studying in Berlin under the guidance of one of my former students now a professor at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences. I hadn't seen her in person for over two years now, so many things could have changed in that time, but I always checked in every month or so and even then she told me everything was fine and I had always accepted that answer. What if everything wasn't fine, what if she was having difficulties in her studies or perhaps she had a relationship she wasn't telling me about. That thought made me shiver, if so it better not be some low-life brute or an idiotic pretty boy only getting by with his parent's money.

All the thinking about my daughter made me start to feel homesick, perhaps in a few months I could take a trip back to Earth and see her in person. I think she'd like that more than I would, she always said she missed me. She was always my little girl, no matter how old she got or how many honors she received.

"Dr. Maxis." I heard Edward call from outside of my door. I snapped out of my thoughts to address him.

"Ja, what is it?"

"You've got someone who would like a word with you." he answered.

That could have meant a whole plethora of things, but I didn't have the patience to ask any excruciating details.

"Let them in." I ordered and the door was pushed open. I was thoroughly surprised to see the young militia-woman standing there. She came right in without a quiver in her step or a nervous glance at Edward who, to anyone else, would have been a concern for being so close.

"Dr. Maxis, I wanted to speak to you about some things concerning your group." she spoke, but her eyes said something different.

She wanted a private talk, without any other ears around to hear it. I looked to Dr. Richtofen who was standing expectantly in the doorway.

"You can go back to what you were doing Edward." I ushered him away.

"Of course doctor." he replied before turning and closing the door leaving Ms. Albana and I to speak in private.

"Vhat is it you need to talk about?" I asked immediately. She wasted no time either quickly taking a chair and seating herself across from me.

"I would think you've looked over this outpost's history, correct." she said.

"Ja, I have und I have to say it's a bit depressing at times. Four men lost in ze course of only two years, even New Shield doesn't lose zhat many in five years time." I answered.

"And that's where I start my case. We're short on experienced members and we're low on the waiting list for any skilled defense to get posted here." she made it short, sweet and to the point.

"I'm guessing you've taken an "interest", if I may say, of Dr. Richtofen zhen." I concluded.

"Yes, but it's not decided fully yet. We're considering the option of putting him into the militia, but because of the recent uproar we've been reluctant to just okay the action."

It was good to see that they weren't blindly taking him in, and with the files I'd given Dempsey this whole scenario was probably because of what he'd been able to read on him.

"I understand your reluctance to do so. Taking him in has it's pros und cons even to Group 935 it's still a struggle to make sure things don't get out of hand." I added.

"Cons or not, he's got the experience we lost when my fath...I mean when Ian was killed. We could use the help especially if that means warding off the Dukni more effectively." she stressed. They were that desperate for experienced militia... well what I'd seen of some of the others' behaviors did make it seem like they were an incompetent bunch other than the four running the whole defense.

"So vhat exactly are you asking me to do?" I questioned.

"If we end up doing this we'll need Dr. Richtofen's cooperation and..."

"Say, no more. He's already in cooperation... isn't zhat right Edward!" I called specifically to the hallway outside of my office. As expected the door opened slowly and there he was standing with his hands behind him looking expectantly at the young lady.

"You just can't keep your curiosity under wraps can you." she commented giving Edward a cold look.

"It's saved my life more time zhan you vould think." he responded in a mildly humorous tone.

"Vell, go on und tell Sgt. Dempsey zhat should you all end up going through vith your decision he's ready to lend his expertise." I urged her. She looked back and me and stood up from the chair.

"Thank you for your time, sir." she said before leaving my office. Richtofen stepped back and let her pass and then came back into the doorway. It was quiet for a moment as we just stared at each other.

"Won't you be glad to be out and about." I chided.

"I'm not an old man like you Dr. Maxis, I'm still very much in my prime." he chuckled.

"Is that why your hair's started to gray?" I mocked. I saw him instinctively trace the gray hair near his ears.

"That's from stress, it doesn't count." he retorted.

"Face it Edward, you're thirty going on sixty before you know it they'll put you back on Earth as a college professor for the rest of your life." I joked.

"You know I'd kill myself before I let that happen."

We both had a good hearty fit of laughter, it was nice to ease some of the tension that had been building since we'd gotten here. He left soon after, closing the door like always and probably going back to his room. I couldn't help, but worry about him sometimes as though he were still that young teenage prodigy just starting his work on the Ray Gun. How many years ago was that, twenty or so? Edward was right, I really was an old man.


	12. Fire And Ice Don't Mix

_Dempsey_

It was still raining when we all went to eat, the streets were nothing but mud and rainwater. The temperature had also dropped tremendously from this morning it was 28 Celsius and now it was 5 Celsius. Of course that didn't stop anyone from getting a meal in this outpost, soaked to the bone and they were still eating their fill. They wouldn't like the trip back to their homes, but they got to eat and that was about the only thing that could have lifted their spirits about this rain. The storm was getting to be a concern too, pretty soon the dry highlands would become an ocean with all the water that couldn't sink into the ground.

The drumbeats of thunder weren't too discomforting, it wasn't like we'd never had a storm like this before, but at the rate the rain was coming down. I had reason to only worry instead of think of the good that could possibly come of this, what little there was of it.

"So, Tank... about the proposition..." Rune nudged me in my side without taking her attention off of her food.

"What about it?" I replied.

"I went over it with Dr. Maxis and Dr. Richtofen and if we decide to go through with it he's more than willing to help out." she relayed.

That wasn't exactly bad news, but then again it wasn't particularly good news either. If Richtofen was actually willing to join the militia I could only think it was for some sinister plot or something like that. Then again, Maxis had "assured" me that it wasn't in his nature to cause harm without being provoked beforehand, but that was just Maxis' side of the story. I'd read the files and from what I saw of his experiences I wasn't too sure about that statement. Of course the man had the experience we needed in the outpost to defend against Dukni interference and it was better safe than sorry.

"Don't get your hopes up, I'm still not one hundred percent okay with this yet. We don't even have Nikolai or Tak's votes on this." I responded.

"I'm not hoping for this Tank, but it'll be best if it passes. You know what Ian always said."

"Better safe than sorry... I know." the man was like my father too. We'd both grown up under his tutelage, whenever he could spare it that is.

"Inducting the doctor may not be as bad of a proposition as you think Tank." Takeo chimed in, "Despite my disrike for him I believe he could be a great help in Garrison."

"Well, now I've got your take on it, but we've still got Nikolai to convince to let him in, and you know how he's going to be." I replied. Nikolai was as thick as a cinder block wall and when he had his mind in a certain direction it was extremely difficult to turn him in another way. I definitely was not looking forward to trying to persuade Nikolai to let Richtofen join us.

Luckily when everyone was done eating the rain had actually moved on, but it left in it's wake unbearable mud and almost ponds of water everywhere.

"This is going to be great trying to drive in tomorrow." I growled trying to keep myself from sinking in the dark brown sludge.

"It'll harden up a little overnight, that or it'll freeze over. Take your pick." Rune commented also trying not to get stuck in the mud. Once inside the barracks we all took off our boots and tapped and scraped off all the earthy material.

"Well training's going to be interesting tomorrow isn't it." she added.

"Getting to see some slips would cheer me up." I chuckled putting my boots in the growing line. I couldn't tell if it was the weather all day or if I was just generally more tired, but I was exhausted. I went straight to my room and stayed there for the rest of the night, but I couldn't get myself to go to sleep. There were so many playthroughs going through my mind of just what things could go wrong if we ended up letting Dr. Richtofen join the militia. I was more worried about the failure of his medication than anything, of course the documents never told me what it did to the letter, but it hinted often that it was some kind of anti-psychotic meant to keep him becoming "unbalanced".

I shuddered to think just what "unbalanced" meant, and I really didn't want to find out anytime soon, or ever for that matter.

* * *

_Nikolai_

It felt good to be out of the jail, but not so good to be outside. The mud was a nearly inescapable sludge grabbing onto people's boots and sucking them in as though it were alive and eating them. It was so bad that the only solution we had was to put wooden sheets all along the streets and even worse so that we had to lay another layer to compensate for the other ones sinking in.

"Damn Smith & Weatherly." I cursed laying down a sheet of the second wooden layer. I was starting to regret ever being happy for getting out.

Due to all the concern of the Duneracers getting stuck in the thick mud outside of the outpost we had to postpone the training, much to Tank's disappointment.

"It's that bad, da." I said to him after laying down my load of wood.

"Yeah, that's one more day we have to take out of our time to train 'em. A day that could better be spent watching for any Dukni who've decided to take advantage of our condition." he complained. They'd done so before and that genuinely frightened me that they may decide to strike even during training.

"They could get us all in one go if they wanted." I growled.

"That's right, and that's why I'm just as ready to get their training over with as they are."

Him mentioning the end of their training brought an unwelcome thought back into my head.

"So... after training is that when we're going to decide?" I asked him.

"Most likely." he answered.

"I thought so."

There wasn't much to do really, without any patrols able to go due to the horrible route conditions only the snipers were outside the wall and we only needed militia on wall duty. I'd insisted on getting an on-foot patrol going, but Dempsey had insisted that even that was too risky with the conditions outside.

"That mud is way too damn thick, and you have to think about the possibility of a mudslide. It's happened before and it can sure as hell happen again." he'd explained to me. Most of the men stayed in the mess hall screwing around with the holo-projector. I'd only been there to join them in a short match of tug of war, but I got bored easily.

I was in my room, laying on my bed waiting for something to do until my turn for wall duty. There was nothing, I didn't have my vodka, there were no entertaining things to occupy myself with. It was miserable like my younger years in the Russian Union Academy; I shuddered a little remembering the horrible times I had there and how glad I was when I got out.

_"What was that, Belinski?!" the drill instructor shouted. A brash, rebellious and tall young adult stood in the line with his colleagues unfazed by his superior's loud voice. _

_ "I will not do it." he said in a calmly defiant tone. He was much taller than his drill instructor and put this to his advantage, standing completely erect to emphasize his size much like a gorilla would. _

_ "You will do as I've ordered Pvt. Belinski!" the instructor insisted._

_ The giant said no more and only stared back into the instructors eyes darkly and unshaken._

_ "Fine, then! You'll be punished!" _

_ The instructor grabbed the electric baton at his waist and quickly smacked the young soldier in his side. He cringed, but only for a moment before charging the drill instructor and taking him down instantly, crushing him under his weight. The shrill cries of whistles and alarms over the PA system alerted other officers and guards of the rebel's act._

_ They came quickly and swiftly their rubber pellet guns trained and ready to fire at the defiant. Pvt. Belinski looked around him and could see the guards on the catwalks with their guns aimed on him. His hat had fallen off his head when he'd charged the instructor and his nearly bald head sported only a light, dirty brown sheet of hair. _

_ "Pvt. Belinski, stand down!" the lead officer shouted from the catwalk in front of him. The private got back on his feet, the instructor was thoroughly unconscious. _

_ "Fuck you!" he yelled defiantly. Pvt. Belinski had long wanted to say those words to the man who'd kidnapped him as a child and forced him here. The lead officer stood in his dark, winter commodore uniform and stared back at the equally willed rebel._

_ "Fire." he commanded._

* * *

_Takeo_

"Hey, Takeo." I heard from behind me. It was Nikolai, but he didn't look right his face was dower and his eyes were dull.

"What is it Nikorai?" I questioned.

"Do you know where Tank's run off to?"

"He's in the mess hall."

"Right."

He didn't even say thank you, but I wasn't surprised we didn't really like each other, we cooperated, but only because we had to. I hadn't forgotten about how he looked though, it was a tell tale sign that he was thinking about it again. His past was a terrible series of tragedy after tragedy, he'd been raised when the Russian Union was vying for power. I felt pity for him to have been born and raised under such a wretched regiment, even I may have broken in such conditions. Thankfully I never had to face those tensions on Earth during that time, but he did.

Even though I'd never really cared to go to Earth other than to visit my ancestors' homeland of Japan I was told of the Russian Union and their eventual fall. It was just as though history had repeated itself, but in the stead of the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler, you had the Russian Union and Mikhel Menakov. What I had learned about was that Mikhel's father Yuri had been the leader of the coup against the long reign of the Putin's in Russia. When the Menakov's took over Russia went from bad to worse, they'd become completely totalitarian under the Menakov dynasty and a threat to the whole of Earth and even Mars at the time.

The Russian Union was "no more" one could say after the revolutionary uprising after the Union had attempted to spread it's boundaries far into Europe which was never achieved due to the revolution. Even after the revolution Russia was still in rough shape, even now it still was. Russia was forced into a powerless state with the strict conditions and limitations put upon it by the UN after the conflict. It was now like it's once enemy in the second World War, Germany, unable to rise into power again.

All of that had happened and he'd been there and experienced every bump and every blast of that conflict and toil. I knew not what kind of torture or discipline they subjected that giant to, but what I did know was that he was never again allowed to step foot in his home country ever again, hence his placement here. He was a soldier without a home, without a place to welcome his exploits despite his part in rising against the rearing dragon that was the Menakov dynasty.

"A lonely way to live, a lonely way to die." I muttered to myself. He'd often said that I would never understand why he still continued his days knowing that there would be no praises for his deeds.

He'd told me in simple words just why.

"Fire and ice don't mix, my comrade."

***A shorter chapter yes, and much more viewpoint changes. All I could do on such an ever busying schedule, but I actually wanted to give you guys an insight on Nikolai's past and a look at Earth's "recent" history in this timeline. I don't particularly like this chapter but I promise I'll get to even better stuff later, I'm excited to write it, but it's not quite there yet.***


	13. Bad Dreams

***Well, I can say I was worried about yesterday's inability to post the new chapter. I'm glad they got it sorted out. Now without further ado, onto the next chapter!***

_Richtofen_

Another long and quiet night, myself being the only one ever awake into the late hours unless Maxis was sure he was close to finding something in his research. Albeit those times were uncommon I'd found myself aiding his nocturnal projects at times, and other times he'd be secluded away from all other people for the rest of the night and he'd once done so for a week. That was when he got the idea to come here to Agria to continue his grand project, a wanderlust that even I found hard to digest at times. Infinite power and endless energy was tempting enough, but was there even the slightest possibility that some source like that even existed. Surely it wouldn't to those with common sense, but Maxis was determined that such a thing existed.

He ranted about it so many times when he'd thought he was alone, but unbeknownst to him others had been listening. A nexus he'd said to himself at times, a source of unlimited energy able to supply humanity to the end of our existence in the universe. It was a crazy goal to find this fabled energy source, but who am I to judge insanity. The very cusp of my being was maintained by a few pills every morning and evening, needless to say I was not the best candidate to judge other's "crazy" dreams. Not to say that I didn't have my own, but they'd long passed their prime.

To pursue them now would be pointless, they wouldn't bring anything to anyone, excluding the costs of a funeral in my honor. Maybe I wouldn't even get a funeral, they'd probably just burn my corpse and get it over with. I never doubted the grim possibilities that would proceed after my death, that was if I was ever to die. The amount of life or death situations I'd come out of was staggering to say the least and many of them no one was ever to know about. Government secrecy and all the other oaths to keep my mouth shut prevented me from telling the real story of many of my "adventures".

On another note, the absence of a training session today was slightly disappointing to both Maxis and myself. The other four were quite pleased at the break, but for he and I we were eager to get it over with, but I was just happy that I got to brush up on some of the skills I hadn't used in quite a long time. With the question of militia work perhaps in my near future the training was beneficial in ways that would have been useless had Ms. Albana not told me of their current dilemma. Being able to get out and let loose the years of pent up aggression and discontent was more than enough to be happy to join them. Alas, I would have to live up to two different expectations here, but of course my obligations to Group 935 came first, the militia would be second.

An involuntary twitch in my right hand got my attention and pulled me away from my thoughts along with the short surge of pain afterwards. I wasn't too concerned about it, they happened every now and then, but still I had to be careful, one bad move afterwards and... well. I pushed that thought out of my head quickly, that was one of the things sure to set it off. After a short while of waiting to see if another surge would follow I glanced over at the clock on my desk. It was midnight, but only in Earth time, I'd neglected to change it even on Mars. Not that it mattered if I did or not I'd been implanted with specialized watch nanobots to take care of that worry.

Agria, being a larger planet had longer days and longer nights all together it was a full thirty-eight hour day. It also had a longer orbit resulting in lengthened years as opposed to the Earth with only 365 days a year. Agria had 420 days in a year thus their months were always thirty-five days adding up to a total of 15,960 hours in a year. It was quite a difference, but it wasn't as bad being on Stygia, a planet without a star in which to orbit around and a planet that never rotated. I'd been there on a mission and it was a terrible place.

The surface of the planet was covered in black colored ice and since there was no local star to illuminate anything you never knew when you'd encounter an ice wall or a field of ice spikes. I'd seen the ice spikes rise up to forty meters and the walls were impenetrable, even with laser drills set on maximum power. It was also the only planet in which 0 Kelvin was possible meaning that if you became exposed to the atmosphere you'd freeze instantly. It was rare that any human ever stepped foot on the frozen ice-ball and even rarer still they'd survive a full Earth day on it. My platoon had done so though, and only by a slim margin did we make it, but because of it we prevented one of the most disastrous Dukni attacks from ever reaching inner Terran space.

_Hydra, Manticore, Chimera, Dragon, Doppelganger, Zombie, Ghost, and Leviathan._

The names of the platoon still fresh in my mind as I put a face to all of them remembering the mission on Stygia. We were on the planet for twenty-four hours and twenty-three minutes, our heat suits were only supposed to sustain us for twenty hours. We'd survived despite the odds, we finished our mission, and we did it without fail...and not a single civilian knew of it. They wouldn't know of it for years to come, well after all of us were dead and gone.

It was 28:00 hours, Agrian midnight, before I felt a repetitive pain in my head signaling it was time to take my medication again. I put my hand into the pocket where I usually kept it and I froze, it wasn't there. I quickly checked into the other one and it was gone from there as well.

"Nein, where is it? It has to be here, it has to be!" I yelled quietly. I searched frantically in every single corner of my room, it was missing... it was missing!

* * *

_Rune_

I woke up in the middle of the night because of a bad dream, a bad dream I was well acquainted with. It wasn't so much of a dream as it was a replay of the day when my father was killed. Every time I saw the face of the Dukni who killed him in that dream it all stopped, it was just me and that creature staring at each other. I never got past that part of the dream and I would always wake up, my fists clenching the blankets and something on the end table on the floor.

"Some day." I would say after a while of being awoken.

I had vowed to kill the Dukni who murdered my father, I wanted to avenge him, but it would probably never happen. I would most likely never see that Dukni in my life ever again, but that didn't stop me from thinking about it. I hoped that one day I would find him and on that day I would did to him what he did to my father. A life for a life, it was one of the things that kept me going in life and so far it felt like it would never come to fruition.

"I need a drink." I grumbled slipping out of the covers and stepping out of my room.

I went out into the hall and went into the main room where a water jug was always in the farthest left corner. I grabbed a small paper cup, filled it and drank the cold water quickly and as I turned to go back to my room something on a table caught my eye. A small object, almost like a bottle was on the edge of the table near the door leading outside. I went over and examined it after picking it up and in the faint light I saw that it was a medicine bottle. As soon as I noticed it was a medicine bottle I paused and almost dropped the thing.

"_This is Dr. Richtofen's. Why the hell is it here?" _I thought, but then I remembered that he'd stopped by earlier today to talk with Dempsey and give him some more papers from Dr. Maxis. Why did he leave it on the table of all places, why didn't he just keep it in his pocket? Maybe it was bothering him or something and now it was in my frozen hands. As much as I wanted to return it I didn't like the idea of trying to give back at such a late hour when he could have very well been asleep. I didn't want to wake him up and run the risk of him getting pissed off at me.

I looked down at the label which I could read the words "Anti-psychosis Medication" on the slightly torn paper. Then again, I didn't want to deal with a complete psychopath in the outpost. I went back to my room and grabbed my boots, put them on and hurried out the door into the chilly night. It was midnight so surely no one else was awake, not even he could have been up this late especially with the sixteen hour day and night cycle. I basically ran across the street covered in wooden sheets over to the 935 building.

I got to the door and pressed in the code to open the door trying to keep warm by constantly moving while I waited for it to let me in. The door spread open and I rushed into the relative warmth of the building. Unfortunately, I didn't know where Dr. Richtofen's room was so I had to wander around for a little bit reading the signs for each hallway until I found the one with the words "Living Quarters" on it. I turned into the hallway and read each plaque that I passed until I found the one I was looking for. I was ready to knock on the door until I realized the door was cracked open a little bit.

I stood there, unsure of what to do and thinking about why it was cracked open. I shook my head and built up the courage to open up the door to let myself in.

"Dr. Richtofen?" I called quietly as I came into the room, lit dimly by the light of his computer screen. I looked around the room for his form to show up somewhere, but as it turned out he wasn't in his room. What scared me now was, where was he?

Honestly, I didn't want to actually see him so I put the bottle on his desk, but before I turned to leave I saw a pile of files on it. There was a picture paper-clipped to the files as well and from the light of the computer I could see my own face in the small photograph.

"These are my files..." I muttered to myself and as I reached out to touch them I heard the door behind me creak open a bit more. Frightened I turned to face the doctor, his face illuminated with the sinister light of the computer screen. I fought back the urge to send a fist flying into his midsection and run as my fight or flight response wanted me to.

"Vhat are you doing here?" he asked just as surprised to see me here as I was of him. I was still frightened for a moment as I tried to gather the words to answer him. He crossed his arms and gave me a stern glare.

"Vell, out vith it?"

"I just came to give you your medicine." I answered quickly. I pointed to the bottle I'd placed on his desk.

His eyes seemed to light up with relief and his posture relaxed a bit, his arms went to his sides and he stepped into the room.

"Danke Gott! I vas vorried I'd lost it." he breathed quickly grabbing the bottle and unscrewing the cap immediately. He picked up a glass of water already on his desk and took the pills hurriedly. I stood by, still a bit scared by his sudden entrance and unable to do much of anything. He looked back at me, his thin face lit completely by the turquoise light.

I was frozen in place, stuck studying the sharp features present in front of me. Pronounced cheekbones highlighted by the shadows they cast, the trademark scar down his eye, slightly pink, flesh colored lips, and the dangerous, emerald green eyes with the foreign slit pupils narrowed in because of the light.

"Thank you." he said. I snapped out of my stupor and was wordless, I couldn't think of anything to say back.

"You...your welcome." I replied a while later. I was still standing in his room as he sat down in his desk chair.

When he did I remembered about the files and I thought of the questions I wanted to ask. He looked back at me again, it looked like he'd expected me to leave a long time ago.

"Something on your mind, Ms. Albana?" he questioned, his attention now fixed on me.

"You seem pretty interested in me for a man who's never stepped foot on this planet before." I said pointing to the files.

"You say zhat like you're someone who wants to keep a low profile. Why is zhat?" he replied. I wasn't expecting him to instigate my question, now I had to think of something to say that wouldn't give anything away.

"You vouldn't happen to be doing things you're not supposed to, vould you?" he continued in an increasingly interrogative tone.

"No, I just find it creepy that you have just _my_ files on your desk." I finally answered.

"Really? Are you sure zhat's all you're vorried about?"

"Yeah, it's weird and uncomfortable to know that you're snooping around in my business. What do you expect to find that I'm an interplanetary criminal or something?"

"Zhat's a bit of a hypocritical statement coming from Code name Ogre." he stated calmly.

I stopped, I was frozen unable to say anything more and outraged that he knew I was Ogre, but then I pieced together that he must have been Code name Leviathan.

"So you're Leviathan! I should have known." I spoke after a moment of silence.

"Indeed I am, and before you say another vord, I don't appreciate you trying to slither your vay into matters not meant for you to even know exist. Vhat I've done in special operations is not for you know unless ze government vants you to know. Your father may have been lenient on such information for you, but I am not!"

My father?! Why would he say anything about him he didn't even known him...unless...

"You knew my father...?" I asked, no longer angry at him. He stopped as I had when he mentioned Ogre to me, but he recovered more quickly than I did.

"In a vay, ja, I did, but it doesn't concern you." he retorted.

"Doesn't concern me?! It's my father you're talking about..."

"It doesn't concern you!" he shouted.

I didn't say anything else for a long while, it was just a quiet stand off for at least five minutes as things cooled down. He got up from his chair and gave me a calm stare.

"Thank you for returning my medication. Now please, leave." he urged me quietly and politely. I left without protest and he shut the door once I was out. I went back to the barracks and into my room, now I was unable to go back to sleep. Now I was curious as to why he knew my father and just what he knew about him that I didn't know.


	14. It's A Secret To Everybody

_Dempsey_

We didn't start training until late in the afternoon, when the mud had hardened enough to allow relatively safe travel for the Duneracers. It was going well for a long while, it was quiet though, probably because Nikolai was no longer with us, but maybe it was something else. Why did I think that, because I kept seeing Rune take glances at Richtofen whenever she could spare the time. It was like she was a predator waiting to strike on its prey and she looked the part, all day she'd had that look on her face.

Apparently Dr. Richtofen knew something she wanted to know, what that was could have been just about anything, given his ambiguous past. It didn't help that I was with his group today so whenever she'd take a glare at him she'd look at me too. I couldn't help her out simply because I didn't know what she wanted. It made me feel uncomfortable so, after and hour into training I called for a break so I could see what it was that was driving her crazy.

"What's up with you?" I questioned once I was in earshot.

She took another dirty glare at the doctor and then addressed me.

"He knows about him." she replied.

"About who?"

"About dad, he knows about him."

"Yeah, he's probably read the files about him, what of it..."

"It's not that!" she growled and then let out a frustrated sigh.

"Then what is it?" I continued.

"He's met him before." she finally clarified.

"Richtofen? He's met Ian before... wait how do you know this?" I interrogated, confused and surprised at the information. She was hesitant to answer, like she wasn't proud of what she did to find it out.

"I woke up last night and I found his medicine bottle on a table so I gave it back to him and that's when he let it slip out." she explained. I knew she was excluding more than a few details about her encounter, but I wasn't going to instigate that at the moment.

"So, do you think he's knows a little more about us than we think?" I asked.

"I don't know, and honestly, I don't want to know. I've seen and figured out enough about him to warrant paranoia. I'd rather not slip into avoidance reminiscent of dementia." she replied hatefully. I didn't blame her, she'd been having the most unfortunate encounters with him and it was probably getting to her. I could have thought that creep was actually stalking her had I not known any better.

"This isn't going to cause any kind of second thoughts on your decision is it?"

"No, of course not. We need his experience, plain and simple, even if we don't like him." she answered truthfully.

"Same here."

"Do you know what Nikolai's verdict is going to be by any chance?"

"We talked about it a little yesterday and from what he's hinted at he'll let him join, but you know Nikolai."

"Yeah, he's stubborn as an ass, but he's one tough son of a bitch."

"That's why Ian let him stay here."

She chuckled a little, probably remembering the first encounter she'd had with the Russian giant. He always acted like a big tough guy, but underneath that stony surface was a heart of gold and she'd gotten to that treasure before anyone else had. As for me, we'd had a few tussles and gotten the piss knocked out of each other before finally calling ourselves equals and eventually friends. Even though we'd still duke it out every now and then we were still pals, it was just our way of showing our companionship. As for him and Takeo, well it was obvious they weren't on the best of terms, but they would work together when they had to.

"Are you going to do the initiation, Tank?" she asked me. I'd almost forgotten about that, every new member was initiated into the militia once they were allowed to join.

"Yeah, I'll do it." I answered.

"Are you sure you want to do it?" she double checked.

"I'll be fine Rune, don't worry about me. I know what to do."

"All right, so long as you're sure about it."

The militia initiation wasn't like some kind of high school sports thing where you got taken to some remote location and put through some humiliating trial. No, it was a serious thing, it was where it was truly decided whether you could make it in the militia or not. You couldn't just have the okay from us, you had to prove that we'd done so for a good reason, you had to prove you could be one of our family. Everyone in the militia was family, we were all brothers (and sisters) for each other and if you weren't good for the family you weren't good for the militia. The initiation was always done the same way since Ian started it, in fact I could still remember my initiation, back when the war was still going on.

* * *

_"Cold?" Ian asked the young soldier sitting on the other side of the fire from him. It was indeed a colder night for the late Agrian spring, apparently even with the heat of a campfire. _

_ "I'm fine, sir." the disciplined young man answered. He was illuminated by the bright flames of the fire. His sky blue eyes glittering in the flickering fire and his clean cut, blonde hair staying still, defiant of the light breeze in the night air. _

_ Ian's face was lit by the fire as well as he stared into the dancing flames as though it were a high class ballerina play. His eyes were a mix of green and blue, like the aftermath of an ocean storm and it's peaceful epilogue. His face was strong, built like a king of ancient times leading his troops onto the fields of battle. Even a complete stranger could look upon him and feel the strength of his bearing, he could look into a rioting crowd and without a word they would settle. _

_ "You're not going to ask why we're out here?" he questioned suddenly, breaking the silence between them._

_ "I don't see why I would need to? You told me to come and I did." the young man replied. _

_ "Typical soldier's response." Ian murmured._

_ "What...?"_

_ "I said you're a typical soldier," Ian stood up from his place on the ground, "you do what you're told and you don't give a second thought to it. If I had told you to come out here and I wasn't even here what would you do then? Would you just sit out here and wait until I actually arrived, and what if I didn't even come? What would you do then?" _

_ The soldier was confused and deep inside he felt angry because he felt like he was being insulted. _

_ "I would have gone back to the outpost." he answered._

_ "You would have? Well, let's just say that I happened to be an hour late and you went on ahead and went back to the outpost. When I got here and saw you weren't here what do you think I would think of you?" he instigated._

_ "You'd think I wasn't following orders, sir." _

_ "That's right, but what if I wasn't coming and you still decided to wait out here? What if there happened to be a pack of Swarmers out here hunting and they decided that you were a prime target, you'd fight them off right. Now let's mix that situation up a little bit more, what if I came out here when you'd gone back to the outpost and I got attacked by those Swarmers, then what am I going to think about you?" _

_ Dempsey was caught speechless, he couldn't answer and if he were to answer Ian would have most likely continued on with the plethora of other different scenarios all caused by a single choice. _

_ "I... I don't know...sir." he put out pathetically._

_ "What was that soldier?" Ian questioned._

_ "I don't know, sir." _

_ "That's not an answer soldier, I want an actual answer. What do you think I'm going to think about you if I end up getting attacked by Swarmers?" _

_ Tank was at a loss, if he answered wrong he'd get chewed out, if he answered right he could get another painstaking scenario to chose from. _

_ "You'll think I'm a terrible soldier, sir." he answered halfheartedly._

_ "No, I'll think you're a typical soldier, you followed orders and didn't think about what could happen that would change the circumstances. You didn't ask the right questions and therefore you let me get attacked by Swarmers." Ian retorted. Ian circled around the fire and took a seat beside the young soldier. _

_ "You can't be afraid to ask questions, son. That's what separates the sheep from the shepherds." he started in a calmer, more sympathetic tone. Dempsey was again confused by the sudden change in tempo, but he relaxed and realized he was just tested, analyzed to see where he was weak at. _

_ "It's not just other people you have to ask questions," he continued, "sometimes you have to ask yourself some questions. If you were given the order to execute someone in your platoon and even though you'd asked your superior why and he doesn't give you a straight answer, would you still do it? Would you kill that soldier, if you had nothing else to go on, but an order? Would that be something you would do?"_

_ "No, of course not." he replied._

_ "But, are you willing to disobey the orders and face the consequences that come with it?" Ian questioned. _

_ "So you're asking whether I would put morality and reason over orders and commands?" Dempsey asked. Ian patted him on the shoulder and let a small smile come across his face._

_ "Yes, and would you do it? If you knew it was grossly immoral would you refuse?"_

_ He began to think about it, but then he realized that thinking about it wasn't the way to go about it. He had to feel about it, it wasn't a question of if he wouldn't do it or not, it was whether or not he would go through with it without thought. _

_ "I would refuse, I couldn't kill him just then and there not knowing what he'd done and why I was ordered to shot him." Dempsey answered. _

_ "That's what separates the men from their demons, and the soldiers from the leaders. Some men would kill wantonly and only afterwards regret their decisions, but... let me tell you something Tank..." he paused. Dempsey had his attention on him completely ready for his next statement._

_ "There are some men in the universe who can __**only**__ regret their decisions, and not because it's their own, but because it's not their own." Ian said, but he caught the look in Tank's eyes and knew that he didn't quite understand what he was saying. Ian's smile was gone and his expression returned to the distinct neutral stare he'd had before. He patted Dempsey on the shoulder again and stood up._

_ "Perhaps you'll figure that one out when the time's right, but for now let's get back home shall we." Ian declared. Dempsey dusted himself off once he was off the dirt covered ground and he put the fire out, following Ian back to the Duneracer._

_ They both got in and Ian started up the vehicle and started on the path back to Garrison._

* * *

_Nikolai_

Normally we could tell when patrols and the like were coming back to the outpost, but since it had rained and the ground was still a thick muddy mess the only way to tell was when we could hear the Duneracers themselves. Sure enough once the sound of tearing mud and growling engines could be heard the training groups appeared soon after. They pulled into the garage and slowly started to get out and head for the gate.

"Open the gate!" a militiaman called from the other side of the gate from me. I pushed the input codes and pressed the red button to start the unlocking and opening.

They all came in, some with their knees caked in mud from either kneeling, or falling down a few times. Most of them had indifferent looks on their faces, at least they looked indifferent it was hard to tell for the youngest scientist, Dr. Simons. He looked like he was scared of something, like he'd seen a ghost. When Rune passed by I questioned her about it.

"What's the young one's problem?"

"Pvt. Dester nearly got him with the shotgun. Thank God we got him before he got too close to the spread." she answered.

Serves him right for wandering about, seriously if that Dr. Maxis had any real sense he would have kept him home. The highlands is no place for the weak and inexperienced, but apparently he didn't get the memo. I closed the gate once they were all inside and I sighed heavily, I still had another two hours of this job.

For the first time in a long time Dempsey, Takeo, Rune, and I were in the same room together and without any other militia with us. It wasn't a meeting, but it soon turned into one and it was on a couple subjects I could have done without discussing.

"Tomorrow all the groups will be done rotating through all the stations." Rune had started up the banter.

"That's means that their tests wirr be the day after." Takeo stated.

"Great, that means we have more time to devote to defending this place." I chimed in.

"That's true, but don't forget Nikolai we've got a vote coming up after this is all said and done." Dempsey reminded me.

Fuck, I'd almost forgotten about Richtofen and his joining the militia.

"Yeah, so you've got three more days to make up your mind." Rune informed me. Three days to decide on my vote and I was still torn on it. Half of me wanted to have him around for the simple fact that he could be some help with killing Dukni, and the other half was against it for obvious reasons.

"I'll have my mind made up, don't you worry about it." I replied.

"What about Dr. Maxis? Wirr he ret us have him?" Takeo asked.

"Yeah, he already gave us his okay on it. What I'm curious about is why Dr. Richtofen is so damn eager to join us?" Dempsey answered him.

"He probably just doesn't want to be stuck in that building all day. The man's still got that energy in him you can't deny that." Rune suggested.

"Da, he's got energy alright." I scoffed reaching for my glass of water on the table. I got a wry stare from Dempsey and I had to assure him it was water and not vodka.

"From what I've seen they're decent, but weak spots..." Rune continued on with the discussion.

"I know what you mean, Dr. Simons has a horrible time trying to even shot a weapon ret arone try to hit something." Takeo entered.

"Pacifist if you ask me." I commented, gaining a nod of agreement from Dempsey.

"This isn't a place for people like him." Tank added onto to my statement.

"Let's not forget Dr. Hartlin's terrible attempt at my station." Rune entered once again.

"How bad was she again?" Dempsey half-laughed.

"Two out of the thirty in visual and five out of twenty in the audio. I mean, really how the fuck do you confuse an alpha Swarmer with a Reaper? Seriously, she must be a natural blonde for sure." Rune laughed. We all had a good fit of laughter making fun of the only female scientist, but apparently that wasn't the only thing she was terrible at.

"Did you see her at the melee station the other day? I swear to God I had keep from laughing when she couldn't even push that sand bag." Dempsey chuckled.

After we got done bashing poor Natalie Hartlin, we had some fun with the other scientists as well.

"How long do you think it takes Dr. Groph to do his hair?" Dempsey asked. The man had a thing for his hair, it was always slicked back and combed perfectly every morning all shiny with gel.

"Probably has to wake up early for that. He's an Earth pretty boy that is for sure." Takeo got a comment in.

"Just ten more minutes I have a stray strand." Rune mocked going through a reenactment of what Groph must do in that situation.

"Speaking of hair have you ever thought of how much love Dr. Maxis puts into that beard?" Dempsey started again.

"Oh God, yeah. Really it's like that one really, really old TV show they had on in like, what the 2010's with those duck hunting guys with the beards and stuff." Rune compared.

"Oh dear lord, what was that show called again?" Dempsey asked.

"It was something rike _Duck Hunters_ or something?" Takeo tossed out there.

"Agh, whatever. It still pretty trim though, he's compensating for the baldness I'm sure of it." I inputted and we all went into a fury of racous laughter.

After the laughing died down and it got quiet again we started getting onto a much more grim topic. At first it didn't seem too bad, but as we went on with it the subject began to take on a much more deeper and darker tone.

"From what I've been working with and Rune's recent reveal... I've got the sneaking suscpicion that our friend, Dr. Richtofen, was in Legend platoon." Dempsey began.

"Legend platoon?!" I gasped nearly choking on my water.

"No, but how did you come up with this?" Takeo questioned. Dempsey's eyes went on Rune and she shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

"Last night I ended up talking with him for a while and long story short he let out that he may have known Ian." she explained.

"Dr. Richtofen knew Ian...? That may exprain some of the tricks he knows." Takeo concluded.

"That's not all," Dempsey continued, "he may have very well been on _that _mission."

We all knew which mission he was talking about, the liberation mission Ian was on in the war. He'd never give us the full story, partially because he couldn't and partially because he didn't want to. Every time we'd managed to get him to talk about it he'd stop and go quiet for a long time, like he was stuck re-living that day for a while.

"If he was on that mission, imagine what he could know about Ian that we don't." Rune added.

"You're not suggesting we butter up to the bastard just so we can get dirt on your father are you?" I growled in a more hateful tone than I wanted.

"Nikolai lay off a bit. It is her father, after all." Dempsey calmly defended her. I backed off, she never got to know what he really did in his service and she wasn't going to stop until she found out every little detail about it.

"I'm not saying that it is a good idea, but there are some things he may have been taught by Ian that we were excluded from us when the war ended." Takeo suggested.

That was one thing I would probably go for if I was to ever try to get something from Dr. Richtofen. I still wanted to know just how he managed to counter me so easily the day we had of melee training together. Remembering that day started to make my blood boil again and I had to excuse myself to go and cool off. Unfortunately, instead of relieving my angry it was boiled up even more because the entire time I was outside I could see him in front of the 935 building. He wasn't doing anything at all, he was just leaning against the wall like nothing in the world was going on, as though time had stopped and would never continue again.

_I find out what you know doctor, all in due time._

***I thoroughly enjoyed writing this one! Ooooh, what revelations await the four with Dr. Richtofen? I guess only time will tell... or until I publish the next chapters, LOL! I thank you all for your extended support (especially you 115 and your lovely reviews)!**


	15. We All Say Stupid Things

_Takeo_

It was a long meditation session when I got back home, I was long overdue for one. Usually I'd meditate at least once a week, but I'd neglected to do so for the past two weeks. That may have explained my unrest and uneasiness as of late, then again the upcoming events that would take place did add to the stress. I hadn't felt this riled up and uneasy in years, it was eerily reminiscent of the time before my home was attacked. I hated the feeling, and I hated what it reminded me of, but I knew better than to cast it aside.

What had happened to my hometown years ago, I was determined to never let that happen to anyone else again. It was brutal the way they came in and slaughtered them, like butchers on a pig farm. We were caught unprepared and weak, the civilians all shot down as they ran for cover or tried to escape from the Dukni. I'd seen many killed and many more captured and herded onto the slave ships to be used as labor for those god-forsaken creatures. It was on that day that I vowed to slay those demons wherever they walked, and it was not only a vow of revenge it was of vengeance as well.

Not only did I lose my friends, I'd lost my family in the attack as well... all of my family was taken away from me. No matter how many times I tried to repress it I always found myself thinking back to that day. It was always the worst when I tried to meditate as I was now, but if I didn't I wouldn't be able to calm myself. It was a vicious cycle, but it had to be done to avert a total spiritual crisis. A crisis that was getting harder and harder to avoid.

* * *

_Buildings were alight with vicious flames that devoured the structures down the iron skeletons. Towering beasts charged down streets, their weapons glowing their sickly green and purple hues. They chased the defenseless people of Hachiyaru, shooting them down as they pleased and grappling them to take back to the town center. Those unfortunate few who had been spared and taken the town square would only suffer a much more worse fate than death. These Dukni were not solely invaders, they were slave drivers intent on taking the human enemy back to their planets and forcing them into god-awful labor. _

_ They growled and spat their guttural language at the terrified humans rallied in the center. They could not understand them, but from the way they sounded it was if they were asking questions in a harsh manner. Those who were too afraid to answer were shot with either a chaotic purple beam, or a venomous green blast. The bodies piled up and the death toll rose until only a handful of the hundreds of people who had been alive were left. A strong wind picked up blowing the infernal fires together and creating a monstrous hell-like scene. _

_ From the smoke-choked night sky the crude silhouette of a Dukni slave ship descended on the outskirts of the town. The slavers forced the few humans on their feet and pushed them towards the ship. Many screamed in fear, their faces contorted with grief, anger, and unbridled fear as they were forced to board the alien craft. The last few Dukni quickly surveyed the burning town and returned to the ship to leave the place to fall to ashes. Little did they know that there was one they had missed. _

_ A boy, just barely old enough not to be considered a child, hid in a pile of debris where his mother had put him before she was grabbed by a Dukni slaver and herded to the town center. When the ship took off he crawled from under the soot covered pile and ran out of the town until he made it to the nearby creek. He was too terrified to cry, his face covered in the ash of his burnt home. His clothing was torn and dirty and his raven black hair disheveled from the running and hiding. He sat on a sand bar and brought his legs close to him and wrapped his arms around them, tucking his head away and sobbing. _

_ He'd lost everything he ever knew, and everyone he ever loved in that one night. In his head he could only replay the last words of his mother._

_ "Takeo, remember us, avenge us, my son."_

_ Many hours passed until a military convoy managed to reach the remote town, but they were far too late. Only the weakened iron structures and ashes of the town remained as well as the brutally handled corpses of the murdered residence, save one. They found Takeo collapsed on the sand bed, his face riddled with lines where his tears had washed away the ash. They took the boy back to their base and questioned him for what had happened. He told them in his broken English the only words they needed to hear._

_ "They killed them, they took mother away. Why did they take mother away...? Where is mother? Haha wa doko ni aru nodeshou ka?"_

* * *

_Richtofen_

We could hear it from inside the building, the fight was so loud coupled with the screaming in both familiar and foreign tongues. We'd all stepped outside to see that the Manjurian was on a rampage, his sword drawn striking invisible foes and spitting foreign curses at the empty air. Out of his striking distance were the other three militia leaders carefully trying to approach him without getting a limb hacked off. What had caused the samurai to fly into this blind rage, surely it wasn't because of someone pissing him off.

"What the hell is his problem?" Simons asked no one in general.

He didn't receive an answer, we were all intent on watching the eerie spectacle before us. As more of the militia joined in a ragged circle around him he became even more agitated striking more often and managing to nick one of them. He was shouting in his native tongue with his blade brandished to attack the next hallucinatory foe.

"Takeo!" Dempsey called from the sidelines gaining the samurai's attention. He turned in that direction and made a beeline his sword ready to plunge into him.

Just before he could lunge he was jumped by the other two, the Russian was able to grapple him completely and Rune managed to disarm him. Takeo would not give up, however, as he tried to wriggle free, screaming Japanese curses aimed at nothing.

"Put him to sleep, I can't hold him like this for much longer!" the Russian urged just barely keeping hold of the wrathful Manjurian. Rune pulled something from the pouch on her thigh and stabbed it into Takeo quickly. For a while he continued his struggle, but he slowly started to cease his movements until finally succumbing to what was most likely some sort of sedative.

"That's the second time this year alone." I could hear Dempsey as he came out from the circle.

"Do you think we'll have to take him in for treatment?" Rune asked. I didn't have a clue what they were talking about, but it had to be something to do with why he had lashed out in this sudden rage. I could see her look around at all the usual spectators and she shooed them away like dogs begging for food. Nikolai carried him back to the barracks as Dempsey and Rune followed behind him discussing something that I couldn't hear.

"Back inside all of you!" Maxis ordered herding us back into the building.

"Dr. Maxis, what was that all about?" Simons asked.

"I don't know Seymour just get back to what you were doing before." Maxis replied with anger in his voice. He rubbed his temples in annoyance and as the others went back to their work I stayed with him.

"I didn't see anything in his files about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. You'd think they'd put it in there, but no they didn't." he muttered angrily.

"They said something about a treatment, it must be something very troublesome if they have to go so far as to treat it." I entered.

"Do you even know what this means Edward?" he asked me trying to keep his voice down.

"I can't say that I do." I replied to him.

"It means that we can't work with him. He's got an above average genetic retention and we can't even touch him because he's got PTSD."

"Ah, we still have Rune you know. Not all is lost Dr. Maxis." I assured him.

He sighed heavily and ran his hand through his beard before speaking again.

"Ja, that's true, but I don't like the prospect of trying to experiment on her first. She's got the most potential because she doesn't have any implants or enhancements. If we screw up we're stuck with it and so is she." he explained.

"So you were going to have Takeo be a guinea pig, so to speak." I concluded.

"That's correct, but now we can't work with him. The government won't allow us to work on him if he's got a disorder."

That was true, we had to have prime specimens to use in order to get accurate results. To a less experienced scientist Post Traumatic Stress wouldn't seem like a big deal, but to Maxis and I we both knew the consequences of having a subject go into an episode during a test. The results were catastrophic and even worse we'd lost a few people in some of those episodes, it wasn't until the Terran government stepped in that we had to stop using people with disorders or medical conditions.

Maxis left for his office without another word and I was left alone as usual to go about my own business. Surprisingly I didn't have any other things to attend to, I'd calibrated my rifle earlier today, finished the last of the paperwork on a report of mine, and I was done with looking over the files I'd had on the four militia leaders. There was really nothing left for me to do and it vexed me greatly. Boredom always invited less than sociable habits to my schedule, something I was determined not to do with my time on Agria. I'd been arrested more than once on Mars for going about some... less than normal excursions to the lower parts of Eden looking for something to do.

With all the "excitement" just a few minutes ago I was reluctant to try and see what all could be done over at the barracks. The mess hall would probably be a-buzz with unwarranted talk and gossip which didn't appeal to me. My best bet was to just wander about the outpost until something caught my eye, and so I did just that. With night coming over quickly the air was cooling down, at least the ground was starting to harden again meaning that some of the wooden sheets that had been placed down in the past had been gathered and put up for another time. Maybe it would rain again some time, but hopefully it wouldn't be a torrential downpour like the other day.

As I walked about the short, mud-dirt streets I got mixed glares from civilians that I passed. No doubt, they'd heard the rumors and stories about me and had decided it was best to avoid me at all costs. I was used to it by now, it was never any different no matter how far across Terran space I went there would still be people who didn't trust me. I stopped after my second encounter with the gate that lead outside of Garrison and into the bomb blasted highlands. I'd often thought about how this area looked before the bombing, all the cliffs covered in greenery and pale gray stones peeking occasionally from the grass like they did in Scotland back on Earth.

I'd personally never been to Scotland, but I'd seen pictures and imagined since the area was called the Serna Highlands I believed it to fit that description. I also caught myself wondering if the planet would ever return to it's pre-war splendor. Perhaps then the Terran Republic would start thinking about protecting this place more effectively instead of just posting military bases all about and hoping that would take care of the Dukni problem. I felt my blood boil just thinking about killing those creatures again, I'd gone for a long time without seeing them let alone killing them. I'd killed them before though and I could surely do so again, but this time it would be "off the grid" so to speak. There would be no conditions to be met, no points to take, and no real retreats; it would all be for defense, a role I played very little of back in the war.

"What are you doing out here?" I heard the distinct female voice ask from behind me.

"Hm..?" I turned to address her.

"Aren't you supposed to be doing some science stuff or something?" she continued.

"I vish zhat vere ze case, but alas, I've nothing to do. Until ze training is over ve're not to start on any new projects or research." I explained to her.

"Oh, well that explains why I see you outside the building so often." she commented.

A silence fell between us, neither of us had anything to really say or talk about.

"I see zhat your friend, Takeo is not vell." I pitched. She looked at me darkly for a moment, but lightened her expression, she knew that I was attempting to make some kind of conversation.

"Yeah, he's had a rough childhood, like the rest of us."

"It seems to be a common theme vith all of you, yes. I've a feeling zhat's vhat keeps you together." I concluded.

"Mostly, the fact that we're constantly trying to keep the Dukni from killing us helps." she replied in a semi-humorous tone.

She wasn't afraid to laugh at some of the more dark and upsetting things in life, a trait that many people did not have. In fact it didn't seem like she was afraid of much of anything, whether that was from bravery or stubbornness I didn't quite know yet, but it was pronounced nonetheless.

"You know of all the people in zhis outpost, you're ze one I keep seeing ze most." I remarked. She paused for a while and then let a snide smirk come across her face.

"For one, I'm not terrified of you like the others are, and two, anyone who can kill or has killed Dukni is a friend of mine." she retorted.

"Is zhat so, at least you think better of me zhan vhat your companions do." I continued. She raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hip in a typical female fashion.

"What makes you think that they think so badly of you? Besides the obvious things." she asked.

"I make a habit of studying people, and from what time I've had vith Dempsey I can tell he doesn't like my "presence" let's just say. Nikolai hates my guts, you can see it in his eyes, und your currently disposed companion Takeo only gets close to me to analyze my weak points." I stated.

She stood in the same fashion, but her facial expression changed to mark that she was impressed with my findings. Another smirk came across her face as she glared straight into my inner being.

"All right, you've got them figured out, but what do you have on me?" she dared to ask.

"You really vant to know?" I laughed. She narrowed her eyes in an insisting fashion, speaking with her expressions.

"Fine zhen, if zhat's really vhat you vant." I cautioned.

It was obvious that she wanted to know, she wasn't scared of what I had to say, but what I had to say may not have been the best for her self-esteem.

"Judging by your daily posture you like to carry yourself strongly representing either an urge to intimidate others or to deter unwanted advances... I von't say anymore on zhat. Your reliance on body language und facial expressions tells me zhat you've got a creative mindset. Now, your eyes, zhey tell an entire story. Just in zhis short amount of time alone I've gathered zhat you've killed in your lifetime, you've seen death, you've been a victim of several crimes against you, you've vitnessed several crimes against others." I rambled on, until I noticed she had her hands at her sides and the smile on her face had vanished.

I ceased my observations and she just stood there in front of me, not saying a word.

"You could have told me to stop at any time you know." I informed her. She shook her head and pushed back some of her hair behind her ears.

"No, it's fine. It definitely gave me an insight into myself that's for sure." she chuckled nervously. I probably should have kept quiet about it, but she'd insisted on knowing and now this instance would bother me for the rest of the night. She started rubbing her hands together and she sighed heavily.

"Well, I guess I should be getting back to the barracks. See you tomorrow." she waved quickly and took off in that direction.

I was chastising myself in my head for what I'd just said.

_Why did I agree to that?_


	16. Initiation Gone Wrong?

***Agh, sorry for the late update guys, I fell asleep writing this one and wasn't able to get it up until now. Plus all the maths involved in it to keep continuity in check made it all the more time consuming.***

_Rune_

Dr. Richtofen didn't really say much to me for a long while after that night, even the day after when he was at my station he didn't say anything. He'd just look at me for just a second and then turn his head subtly like he was anticipating that I'd lash out at him for it. Truth be told, I didn't take offense to what he'd told me about myself I actually rather enjoyed the little tidbit of observation. Unfortunately he didn't really get to what I'd actually wanted to hear, the parts of myself I could improve on. I was always vying to make myself stronger and somehow achieve the level of my father.

By the time the tests were being administered the ground had returned to it's original dryness making it easier for all of us to get around. Patrols were in function again, and surprisingly no Dukni had even shown their faces in the remote area. That was more of an omen than anything and we knew that this oddly long respite was a death sentence if we weren't all careful. Takeo had gotten himself straightened out after taking a day off while Dempsey had to end up managing two stations, but he didn't seem to mind it. Within my station, the day I had Richtofen's group it was, as I had said before, quiet between us all. Even Dr. Maxis, whom I thought for sure was going to bring up something had stayed silent for the most part.

Their silence was more unnerving than them actually talking to me, I could have gone on a normal-ish conversation, but I didn't even get so much as a trickle of "friendly" gossip. The quietness was making me paranoid like the other three, I was starting to think that there really was something up with them. That paranoia, however, would have to be put aside by all four of us tonight after the tests. We had that vote to look at, and by the way things were looking Richtofen would be looking forward to having the occasional patrol outing. It was day two of the tests, which were the last few who didn't volunteer yesterday.

Among the reluctant were Dr. Simons, Dr. Hartlin, Pvt. Uller, and (not surprisingly) Dr. Richtofen, who'd insisted on going last despite the protests of his superior. Simons was up first, and he did miserably at some parts, weapons, recognition under pressure, and the other parts he managed decently. When he was finished he greatly joined his fellow scientists, practically sprinting for cover like someone had set a time bomb and he knew it was there. Pvt. Uller was "volunteered" by Dempsey to go next due to his sudden outburst of profanities aimed at Dr. Hartlin. (Did I ever mention Pvt. Uller was sexist, because he is and he's paid dearly for it with me).

His test was no better than Dr. Simons, in fact Simons came out ahead of him. Pvt. Uller never worked well under pressure, if he worked at all and how he ever managed to get to Garrison was beyond me, but after his test was over and his string of profanities done with the four of us knew he would be backing up his equipment tonight and leaving the outpost for good.

"It's about damn time." I muttered.

"I don't blame you." Dempsey replied, apparently hearing my praise. Nikolai on the other side of him nodded in agreement, he'd been allowed to watch the tests with us.

"All right, Dr. Hartlin, you're up." Cpl. Hunts addressed the woman who was shaking her hands trying to fight back her nervousness.

Once the time started she was on it quickly, and hell she was quicker than Dr. Groph was yesterday, the only two parts she failed to pass were obviously the visual conformation, and melee stations. Despite those two failures she managed to pass the test by a few threads of fate, and a lucky fumble shot to the furthest target in the shooting range. She took her usual place next to Dr. Groph and turned her attention quickly to the testing course.

"Now it's his turn." I heard her mumble, a hint of fear in her voice. Down at the start of the course he was there, unfazed, standing with military readiness.

All four of us exchanged glances, we were ready to see just why he'd elected to go last, and we all had a good idea of why. Dempsey took in a quiet breath and pressed the buzzer to start.

He was a bat of out hell, on the shooting range in five seconds flat and ready with his rifle not a second later. The required six shots rang out as the furiously fast bullets collided with the metal targets and another three bonus shots all met their targets with the same vigor. Next came the shotgun rounds and he was through them just as fast as he was with the rifle, he shot the targets almost instantly as they popped up in his line of sight. The pistol was a breeze for him, managing getting through the whole ten bullet magazine in record time. That was over with and I took a look at the other three and I even saw Takeo was impressed, and that was a rare occasion indeed.

We'd known he'd be good, but this was ridiculous, it was like the man had never even left the military, but we knew he had. It'd been three years and he was still sharp as a freshly sharpened knife. Survival was nothing, he was through the bolla fruit like it was a ball of fluff, I'd cut my hand open on that part when I went through it. It was only in recognition did we ever see any kind of slow down from him, the humanoid targets were giving him only a little bit of trouble, but it was soon bypassed. He was done with the easiest of the tests, now he'd be on the melee station where we'd set up physical holograms as opponents.

Three human combatants at different intervals, the first a common vandal who was easily disposed of with one swift movement that flipped him on his back. That one dissipated and the military recruit took his place and was again no match for the man who'd apparently done it all. Richtofen even went so far as to break his holographic arm and sent him keeling in programmed agony. The last combatant was a trained boxer, and I could have sworn that he actually laughed when he saw the hologram solidify.

"You really think zhis is a challenge?!" he shouted up to us, his attention still on the boxer.

The boxer jumped around and threw fake punches to try and psyche him out, but he just stood in the same place, not even with his arms tensed. As soon as the hologram made his first real punch Richtofen grabbed hold of his glove and then his other arm, quickly bracing him against his back and throwing him to the ground like a pillow. The hologram pathetically writhed in pain on the ground as he too dissipated into nothingness.

"Fucking hell, now I can really believe he knew Ian." Dempsey breathed.

"Yeah..." I replied still amazed at the sheer speed in which the course was cleared. He was only three seconds short of my father's time.

We cleared the Pit quickly with the help of all the people there and we all piled into the Duneracers and headed back to Garrison. The training was done, and now the militia could focus it's efforts back completely on defense. We herded all of the trainees into the mess hall, well almost all of them, Pvt. Uller was taken to go pack his things. Once inside they all sat down without having to be told to do so and Nikolai, Takeo, Dempsey and I all stood at the front of the room.

"To all of you here in this room, you'll be happy to know that you all passed." he congratulated.

The militiamen and only a few of the scientists cheered, finally glad to get it over with.

"Some of you with flying colors," he made a nod to Dr. Richtofen who nodded modestly in return, "and some of you just barely passing."

"Natalie...*cough*." Dr. Groph playfully mocked. She in turn shoved him jokingly and the two shared a semi-quiet laugh together.

"I'm just glad to have it over!" Dr. Maxis exclaimed surprising even his colleagues at his remark.

"Yep, now you'll be able to devote your time to your projects. Goody for you guys right." I entered.

"Yeah, if you like getting hounded three times a day for something you've already done." Dr. Simons played along with the increasingly humorous atmosphere.

"Keep talking like that Seymour and I'll send you back to Mars." Maxis replied, again in a humorous tone. Simons swung his hand in a heavy gesture and laughed causing most of the others to laugh too. Even we had to share in the comedy for little bit until everything quieted down again.

"Ahem. Now without further ado, I'd like to formally congratulate you all with something special." Dempsey started again.

Behind me was a small table set up earlier this morning with a box on it.

"For passing your basic training as civilians," he used the term lightly, "we'd like to gift you an honorary medal for doing so."

On cue I took the box from the table and opened it to show the pin medals with the unofficial emblem of Garrison blazoned on them.

"If you all would..." I ushered and they all knew, more or less, what to do. They lined up, some even eager to get the semi-homemade medals.

I pinned them on, one person after the other until at the very end of the line was unsurprisingly Dr. Richtofen. I pinned the medal onto his shirt and he lingered there for a while and for a while I thought I was hallucinating. He was giving me a genuine smile, a small smile, but an actual smile. I scoffed humorously and moved my head in an urging way.

"Get back there before I kick ya." I chuckled.

"You vould, vouldn't you." he replied quietly.

"Go on, ya creep."

He eventually took his place back among his colleagues and once he did we dismissed them from the mess hall. They were done with their training and ready to get to their real work here... except for one. Dr. Richtofen still had a meeting to attend with us.

* * *

_Dempsey_

It was always before sunset when we'd start the votes that way the initiation could be done the very same night. We were all together in my office and ready to cast our votes and discuss just how we were going to start him.

"Ahem. You all know why we're here." I began.

"Yes, and it's about time too, we need the extra hands." Rune replied impatiently.

"You seem a little too eager for this." Nikolai grumbled to her.

"You've seen what he can do and we're desperate for replacements."

"Quiet both of you!" Takeo exclaimed getting their attention and stopping their bickering. He nodded to me to keep going and I took the opprotunity.

"Now, as you know we have to take a vote, three-fourths passes unless their is an ample reason." I reminded them.

"Then ret us stop stalling and get it over with." Takeo urged.

"Yeah, what the Manjurian said." Nikolai added.

"All right then, Rune as first and only born to Ian, what is your vote?" I asked promptly.

"Yes." she replied obviously.

"Takeo, as the most recent permanent addition to the militia, what is your vote?"

"Hai." he answered simply.

"Nikolai, as the first non-Sernian to be inducted, what is your vote?"

"As much as I don't like him I will let him join us. So, yes." he grumbled.

"And as the leader of the militia I vote last and I too, vote yes." I ended the ceremony. Dr. Richtofen would be allowed to join us, but only if he passed his initiation. The vote was one thing, the initiation was what made or broke your chances.

"The initiation will be when?" Rune asked.

"About an hour into the night." I replied to her. She nodded satisfied with the information and got up from the chair she was sitting on.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm tired." Nikolai yawned getting up from his seat.

At least he'd be able to knock off early, I had to do the initiation still, and I had a feeling it would be long into the night before we came back. Rune and Nikolai had left leaving Takeo and I alone in my office to talk over some things.

"Dr. Richtofen is a risky choice Dempsey, I hope you're willing to deal with him." Takeo warned.

"I know he is, but as of now he's our best chance at getting some kind of advantage against the Dukni." I replied to him.

"Yes, that is true, but what we saw today of him I'm convinced that he stirr hides many secrets from us."

"Maybe with some time with us he'll be willing to share those secrets."

"I cannot say that I hope for that." he finished and left the room as well.

It was an hour into night time and just as I'd planned I went to go and get Dr. Richtofen from the building. He was an easy find being in the building lobby just as I walked in, apparently it was if he knew he'd be going because he'd dressed disturbingly appropriately. I put that out of my mind and focused on the task at hand.

"Dr. Richtofen." I called.

"Ja?" he replied shortly.

"Need you to come with me, but before you do tell Dr. Maxis that you might be out for a long while."

"All ready taken care of." he quickly answered.

I raised my eyebrows for a moment and nodded my head, impressed at his readiness.

"Okay then, let's not waste any time." I urged walking to the doors with him following behind me. We were at the gates in no time where I'd already pulled up a Duneracer to take into the wasteland.

"Ah, I see, zhis is an initiation isn't it." he concluded after seeing the Duneracer.

"Yeah, everyone goes through one, even I did." I replied to him getting into the driver's seat.

"Just like he used to do. Am I right?"

He was referring to Ian, it made me shiver mentally to know that he referred to him so casually as though they had been close friends. They may have even been so for all I knew, but I was determined to find out whether or not that, and many other things, were true. Once he was in I speed off on the morning patrol route and followed the dusty trail for quite some time before turning off into the small opening between two cliffs. This path was rarely used because of the infrequency of initiations in Garrison, but despite it's faint presence in the headlights and the approaching darkness I knew where to go. The path turned and followed up to the top of the left plateau that made one of the cliffs that I'd pulled off past.

Up here was a single fire pit situated dead center of the plateau just like Ian had left it years ago. I got out first and was again followed by Dr. Richtofen who waited patiently for me to get the fire going. I'd made sure to bring all the materials needed including the refused wood that would now be used to fuel the fire. By the time it was at it's roaring peak it was deep into the night and the wind began to pick up slightly, probably the prelude to another coming rainstorm. We said nothing, we just sat and watched the fire burn, he had no problem with the quiet and isolation at this place. He seemed to welcome it, maybe because it was a change from his work.

"It's going to rain again, isn't it." he spoke out of the blue.

It startled me, the way he said it, like nothing was wrong in the world and yet here we were in Dukni active areas and he wasn't even fazed.

"Seems that way." I replied to him.

"You're very quiet, odd. I vould have expected you to be ze more talkative one. My suspicions vere vrong apparently." he observed.

"Talkative, we're in the middle of Dukni infested areas and you're not so much as taking a single look at the surroundings."

I was looking up from the fire now able to see that he too had taken his attention away from the flames. The fire light accented his features with deep shadows giving him a sinister air and evil look about him. His eyes were deep in the shadows, appearing only due to the glint of the fire in the pools of acid green. The expression on his face was serious as was mine, but his was on the edge of being concerned.

"I know vhere ve are Sgt. Dempsey, but I've no fear. I've killed plenty of Dukni before und if zhey show up I'll just have to add to zhat count." he announced faintly triumphant.

"So you have killed Dukni... that's good to know." I commented.

"You'll be surprised at just vhat else I've done in my time." he teased.

That remark made me angry, he knew what I was trying to do here, and I didn't like when someone could so easily manipulate my motives.

"Then you should know what I plan to ask you." I replied defensively.

"I do, but know zhat I don't plan on giving everything avay."

"Figured so."

"Zhen ve understand each other. Now ask vhat you vant, I suppose zhat your questions und how I answer zhem are my initiation." he concluded.

I couldn't ask anything too deep so quickly, that would defeat the whole purpose, I had to build up a "trust" so I could get to that later. If I did ask too fast he'd probably lie to me and give me false information.

"If you knew Ian, you must have either been in his platoon or met him a few times." I started.

"So you vant to know if I vas in Legend platoon." he chided.

"Yes." I clarified.

"Indeed I vas, for four years I vas vith zhem." he answered.

Four years, I calculated everything in my head, the war had been over for three years, he was thirty so that meant he was twenty-three when he joined Legend platoon. He was young considering that everyone else I'd met or heard about in Legend platoon were well into their thirties or so.

"You must have been some outstanding soldier to get inducted at your age." I remarked.

"You could say zhat." he replied vaguely.

"Ian was thirty-three when you joined then." I informed him.

"Und you vere nineteen."

I paused for a moment, but then realized he must have read my files and knew how old I was currently. We were both playing the same cards on each other, I didn't know whether that would be good thing or a bad thing in the future.

"Yeah, I'd just started my service, but unlike you I was never put into the war." I told him.

"I don't doubt it, zhey didn't vant young men like you going into a var like zhat." he replied.

"Wait, you must have gone in when you were eighteen. Why are you saying that if you were put into it yourself when you wouldn't have been otherwise?" I questioned.

He laughed quietly about it, like it was a grand mistake he'd been let to fight in the war.

"Unlike you Sgt. Dempsey I vas trained for it long before I vas sent to fight." he answered.

"So you were career military?" I pitched. He went quiet and his dark humor subsided as his expression turned back into a serious grimace.

"Not by choice, Sernian, not by choice." he explained letting himself back away from the fire and becoming more enveloped into the dark of the night.

I wasn't going to get anymore out of him about that subject, I'd hit a wall, the one thing I didn't want to end up doing. I had to think of something else to ask him about, but I was afraid that if I tried now he wouldn't answer me truthfully.

"So you were on the liberation mission then?" I tried to ask, but then I got the worst stare of my life so far. I'd hit more than a wall there, I'd hit a soft spot with that question. He didn't say a word, but I could feel all the hateful things being said to me at once with those acid pools lit furiously by the fire.

"Zhat's for another time... Sergeant." he said before turning his attention to the stars and ignoring me for almost a whole hour afterwards.

I knew there was no point in staying out here any longer seeing as I botched the opportunity to ask questions. I hopped up to my feet, but the doctor was still fixed on the small lights above us.

"Hey," I called, it grabbed his attention and he quickly stood up, "let's get going."

"I'll go ahead and put ze fire out. It's ze least I can do." he said, his voice was quiet and apologetic. Now I was feeling sorry for having asked him those questions, I'd done something terrible for sure, but then again he was a strong guy... wasn't he?


	17. Cocked, Locked And Ready To Rock

_Nikolai_

There he was, standing in Dempsey's office with the rest of us, the new addition to the militia. It hadn't been a long initiation from what Tank had told me all because he'd completely screwed up the chance to question him. It wasn't all that bad from my point of view, now we knew he had some weak spots in his psyche. Something I was bound to take advantage of, but Tank had told me exclusively not to piss of the doctor after he told me about his failed outing.

"If you so much as start asking him those questions I'll put you back in jail personally." he'd told me.

It was a harsh warning, but he was just trying to keep the worst at bay with whatever Dr. Richtofen had up his sleeves.

"So, Dr. Richtofen, I hope you slept well." Dempsey started, in a casual tone.

"I did for ze most part." he replied rubbing his neck like it was hurting him, but it probably wasn't.

"That's good..." he was quiet unsure of what to say next.

"Ahem." Rune coughed getting Tank back on track.

He fumbled around for a blank sheet of paper and a pen, ready to write something down.

"We just need a list of what you can offer to defense of the outpost. Doesn't need to be lengthy, paraphrase or abbreviate as needed." he quickly offered the paper and pen to Richtofen who took it calmly.

"It vould be more efficient if I just told you, but if zhis is ze vay you do things so be it." the doctor commented then got to writing. I couldn't help, but take a little bit of offense at his remark, but as Dempsey had told me I kept quiet.

He wasn't even in any kind of armor, I had to wonder if he even had any, it was probably a stupid thing to ask myself. He was in the military he had to have some of it left, or maybe they took it from him for some reason or another. I drifted off in thought for a moment and then I saw that he was done and handed the paper back to Dempsey. He read the writing quickly and mulled it over for a while thinking of what best to do with whatever he wrote on the paper.

"Well, this is... great. I mean it, seriously we could have you anywhere." he informed Richtofen with an ecstatic thrill to his voice.

"Really now, I didn't think you vere zhat desperate... " he stopped for a moment and shook his head slightly, "Sorry I meant no offense."

"None taken." Dempsey replied quickly.

"So he can be anywhere. Nice." Rune said simply, shifting in her chair so that she was ready to pounce up at a moment's notice.

"Indeed." Takeo muttered from his corner of the room.

"We can start him up now, so just where is the question." I entered.

"Hold on guys, we've still got the situation of armor and equipment." Dempsey began, but his soon to be question was quickly answered.

"I've got all zhat I need, armor, my rifle and it's ammunition, und a combat knife. All I really need is a few pieces of desert climate equipment." Richtofen answered promptly. That answered my thoughts from earlier, but just how effective would his armor be, then I had to mentally smack myself for another stupid question. Even we were using outdated armor, his might even be better than ours even if it was three years old.

Dempsey chuckled, he was obviously happy that he could start out on such a good note.

"Then that's all good. Now we can focus on what we're going to start you out on." he took a look at Rune who started to slouch back into her chair.

"Really Tank..." she groaned.

"Well it was your suggestion." he reminded her.

"Damn it." she cursed, face palming in the process.

"You didn't think you'd get away with it did you?" I chuckled.

"Shut up Nikolai." she growled pushing me back playfully. Dempsey cleared his throat to get her attention back.

"I hear ya Tank," she said standing up from her chair and putting her hands on her hips, "just what do you want to me to start him with?"

Tank pushed away from his desk and unlocked the cabinet behind him, opening it to reveal the three guns resting within it.

Rune's eyes went wide, those were her old patrol weapons, the SMG, sniper rifle and customized semi-auto assault rifle.

"Dempsey... you're not... " she gasped eyeing her prized weapons.

"You're going on patrol Rune, that's an order." Dempsey relayed the obvious. It was hard to tell whether she was happy, or if she was terrified.

"Tank, she's out of practice do you really think this is such a good idea?" Takeo asked, his back off of the wall and his right foot forward.

He gave Takeo a look and then turned his attention to Rune.

"Gotta get her back into it then, and what better way to do that then to have her run it through with someone new." he answered tossing her SMG to her. She gladly caught the weapon and admired the worn, green scale camo and took a quick look through the holographic sight. She was stuck there for a while and then a smile came across her face.

"Now I can actually get out and do stuff again." she chided still looking over her prized Skorpion 2083.

"Hey, you've still got more weapons coming." Tank warned her before tossing her sniper rifle.

She quickly put the SMG aside and took to admiring her old sniper rifle, well it wasn't exactly hers...

"Zhat's Ian's rifle." Richtofen remarked out of nowhere getting everyone's attention. Rune looked at him with surprise as we all did, but she was the most surprised of all of us.

"How can you tell?" she asked. The doctor gladly got up from his seat and pointed to the stock where a large scratch was.

"Zhat vas from five years ago, vhen a Dukni sniper round nearly hit him." he explained tracing the deep scratch with his index finger.

"Yeah, you've got an eye for detail I'll give you that." Rune replied to him. He backed away almost embarrassed to have pointed it out in the first place.

"Sorry I don't mean to..."

"Nah, it's fine, traits like that'll do you good out there." she reassured him. It almost made me sick how nice she was treating him. I wish I could have had a bottle of vodka, but I remembered again (and not for the last time) that I couldn't.

Once the weapons were given back to their rightful owner, and she put them in her room for when she started equipping her patrol armor, we all started about the day's business. I was on gate duty again today, but I didn't mind it this time it would be shorter than last time and then I'd have it easy on wall duty.

* * *

_Takeo_

Rune was at the gate first as usual, she was checking her armor, trying to get used to it again. At least her's wasn't as bulky as the rest of our's was, she had scout armor while the rest of us were stuck with either infantry, or in the Russian's case heavy infantry armor. She had her old weapons placed carefully at the places where she used to carry them, the SMG at her hip, sniper rifle on her back and her assault rifle which was currently in her hands. I could see Dempsey from afar with Dr. Richtofen trailing behind him having gotten the proper climate equipment including the trademark scarf that all the militia wore. On top of the wall it was hard to make out exact details, but I could see easily that Richtofen's armor was well worn.

Even the wrist-guards were dulled with time and use, but the type of armor he was using was better than most of us. It was a variation of the recon armor used in the war, the black fabric which was most likely lined with thin carbon fiber threads, and the shoulder pads which were not standard with recon armor. The only thing I recognized on him was his rifle, and he was given a pistol along with the desert equipment. I watched as the two of them went by and made their rendezvous with Rune at the gate.

"All set?" Dempsey asked Rune.

She hefted her ARX-780 and nodded affirmatively, she was ready without a doubt. I took a look back at the doctor and shuddered to think of all the things that could go wrong with this decision. Why Dempsey had chosen to let her back on patrol, and with the scientist, no less, was beyond me, but I had to let it be. They were orders after all, but if something went wrong Dempsey would know not to continue with it. Not that I was wanting something to go wrong, I was just bitter at Tank's recent decisions. That was probably just the old warrior within me crying out against the evil I felt residing behind that scientist's facade.

"Weapons good?" he continued.

"Yep, everything cocked, locked and ready to rock." Rune confirmed happily.

"I'm ready to go if you're ready to let us." Dr. Richtofen added.

"Right then, I got the Duneracer set up outside the gate for you. You take the short route, if you see any activity do not engage unless you're fired upon first, got it." Tank informed.

"Yes, sir." they replied simultaneously.

Dempsey nodded with satisfaction and started to back away from them.

"Be careful out there!" he called to them.

"Will do!" Rune assured before heading out of the gate and going for the Duneracer. I saw Dempsey walking back to the barracks and I had to sudden urge to call out to him.

"Dempsey!" I called and he turned his attention to me.

"Yeah?!"

"You better hope this was a good idea!"

"I am hoping!" he replied to me and then started back to the barracks.

I heard the tires scrape the dry, dusty ground and saw the dust cloud rise up from outside the wall. There they went down the dirt trail to the short route that ran through the crags. I felt an uneasiness rise inside myself, now I was really hoping nothing bad would happen to them.

* * *

_Richtofen_

It was odd wearing my old armor again, it felt heavy as expected and restrictive. I probably wasn't alone in that respect as Rune was also shifting her armor around earlier. We were already off onto the path and just now reaching the mouth of the other cliffs when the question I'd had earlier came back to me.

"Vhy vere you banned from patrol in ze first place?" I asked keeping my voice loud enough to be heard over the vehicle, but quiet enough to be polite in tone.

"Well, a few years ago, after dad died, I got a little out of hand on a patrol and nearly got myself killed. Luckily Takeo sniped the Dukni that was about to take my head as an ornament." she answered.

It wasn't what I had initially expected, but if that was the way it happened I wasn't one to pull it apart. Everyone out here had bad blood with the Dukni, and I was no exception to that statement.

"You have a pretty good eye, how about you look out there," she pointed to the cliff right of us, "and tell me what you see?"

I did as she said and on top of the cliff I could see a crude effigy made of rustic, and badly worn Dukni armor.

"Zhere's an effigy up zhere, vith old Dukni armor." I relayed to her.

"Yeah, that was my dad's thing. He'd take parts of their armor, one part from each one he killed and put them on that post." she explained.

From what I'd seen it wasn't a complete set.

"He never finished it did he." I stated.

"No." she answered.

"Have you ever thought of doing it?" I asked her, she was quiet for a second.

"I don't think it's my place to finish it. No one's added to it since he died."

I understood why she felt that way, but still it seemed more of a tradition than anything because as we went along I could see more of them on the cliffs.

"Vhat about zhose ones?" I asked and pointed at them.

"That's some of the other militia's. We've lost a few of those men over the years, it's sort of like a secondary gravestone for them." she told me. It seemed like something I could take up doing, but then again I wouldn't be out here all the time.

"Do you think I could start one?"

She looked at me for a moment and then turned her attention back to the trail.

"I don't see why not." she replied and then she started looking on the cliffs as well. After a while she pointed, to one that I assumed was her's.

"The one with the skull and helmet is mine." she pointed out. I had to say, a skull with the helmet still on it was a bit brutal, but of course the bastards had killed so many, including her own father.

"I snagged the head off of one of the ones I killed, cleaned it out and everything." she explained triumphantly.

"A nice trophy." I commented and she laughed.

"Yeah, I think they hate me even more to know that it was one of their elite recon troops."

"You took on an elite recon?"

"Well, I had some help, but I got the last shot in so it was technically my kill."

"Oh, zhat clears things up."

"Ha, you thought I could take on an elite on my own? I may be good, but not that good."

Unless she'd told me otherwise I would have thought so, she was Ian's child after all and the things I'd seen him do were astounding. We were quiet for a long proportion of the ride afterwards until she stopped abruptly at an opening between two cliffs.

"Vhy are ve stopping?" I asked.

"This is were we recon on this route. The Dukni like to settle in a flat strip of land beyond this point." she explained.

I nodded, satisfied with the answer and followed her through the opening that was just wide enough to fit two people through if they were shoulder to shoulder. She grabbed a pair of binoculars from her waist and searched around the area that she'd told me about. The strip was almost the size of a football stadium (Ahem, soccer for you Americans...) and the flattest thing around for nearly a kilometer stretch. Without the aid of binoculars I could see only a raging dust storm out in the distance, but during the moments were it settled I could see very small dots.

"It was too good to be true." Rune breathed quietly, putting the binoculars aside.

"Dukni?" I asked.

She nodded affirmatively and handed me the binoculars which I took quickly.

"And that's not even the bad news." she stated, and with the new aid I could see why. There were six of them and they were surrounding a vaguely familiar piece of ordinance.

"Zhat's a Mark III Starblaster Turret." I relayed.

"Starblaster?" Rune questioned.

"You've never seen one before? Vell, let's just say it gets it's name from ze fact zhat it's shots look like stars from a distance, but vhen ze get close..." I explained.

"Ah." she'd pieced it together.

"Either way this isn't good news, if anything they could be planning to take out the military base judging by the way it's facing." she pitched.

"Zhen ve should hurry und report zhis to Dempsey zhen." I urged.

"Yeah, let's get going." she agreed and we both hurried back to the Duneracer. Once inside we were off again and speeding on the trail in an effort to relay the information as soon as possible. That's when the worst case scenario started.

***DUN DUN DUUUUUUUNNNN! Muwahahaha cliffhanger!***


	18. It's Still Home To Me

***So I can't use the alt key codes to use umlauts for some of the German phrases so please bear in mind that detail when you read it.***

_Rune_

The impact hit the Duneracer with tremendous force causing it to veer off the trail and flip almost four times until stopping on it's tires thankfully.

"Mein Gott! Vas in der Holle?!" I heard Richtofen exclaim angrily in his native tongue. I looked around, but a heavy dust cloud was blocking anything within view except for the silhouettes of the familiar enemy.

"GA' RA' KA!" the hoarse cry of a Dukni called from the dust. I instinctively unbuckled and grabbed my assault rifle and aimed at the blurry silhouettes.

Richtofen had already done the same shooting into dust as well hoping to hit something, but to both of our misfortunes their armor was doing it's part. The first Dukni out of the cloud charged at me, luckily leaving itself open to a plethora of hits which I took gladly. The first real shot was in the shoulder weak point of it's bulky, neon lit armor, but that did nothing to halt it's advance. I fired at the helmet, but the shot reflected off and I tried another time and managed to break through the visor finally stopping it's charge and sending it into a fit of pain. The second Dukni rushed through the slowly fading cloud and this one was faster and much more slight of build.

It didn't go for me instead it tried to take a cheap shot on Richtofen who was currently affixed on trying to shot down a more larger Dukni. I tried repeatedly to hit it's legs and only managed to cause a slight discomfort which directed it to me. It stood at it's full height of eight feet and was glaring at me through it's heavily tinted four-lens goggles. It let out a menacing, shrill roar and started for me; prepared I took the opportunity to shot it's midsection weak point and got it to fall to the ground before it flailed desperately and managed to get back on it's feet again. Before I could get another shot in another impact rocked me out of the Duneracer completely and sent it on it's side leaving me without cover.

Various beams of green and purple flew from several Dukni rifles, at the most there were three of them left in the dissipating dust cloud and the one I was facing left four able to fight. The slender one regained it's footing after the impact and this time came at me with it's crystal-like pistol shooting wantonly hoping to hit me. My assault rifle was on the ground to my right side, but there wasn't time to grab for it so I quickly grabbed for my SMG and fired just as recklessly as my foe. It's armor was capable of taking all the bullets I could dish out, I thought I was going to die right then and there, but a sudden burst of a black, oily substance and the absence of the creature's head assured me otherwise. Richtofen had taken a clear shot at the most vital weak point of the Dukni and managed to blow it's head to pieces with his rifle.

"Next time call for help if you need it!" he shouted before returning his attention to the now visible Dukni remaining.

I noticed that they were all in close proximity to each other and it was the perfect time to throw a grenade into their midst. On the back of my belt I grabbed for one of my three grenades, quickly pulled the pin and lobbed it into the crowd which sent them running for cover instantly. Richtofen and I didn't waste the opportunity to shoot the off guard creatures and I managed at least one hit to another shoulder weak point causing one of them to drop their rifle.

"Get back!" I heard him yell at me. I didn't know why, but I instinctively followed the order and took cover behind a nearby pile of rocks.

I peeked out to see that he was aiming his rifle at one of the Dukni, but his rifle had changed drastically. No longer the standard looking rifle from before, it was expanded at the barrel revealing three sharp prongs that surged with deadly, blue electricity. It glowed with furious intensity and the buzz and hum of blood-thirsty lightning increased in volume before he let it fly at the Dukni. The electricity darted in the blink of an eye to it's intended target and then it arced to the other three frying all of them with a vicious hunger. Their blood-curdling screams of agony were more than enough to ensure that they were surely doomed to die.

Droplets of their sickening, black blood dropped and mixed with the dust creating corrupted blotches in the earth beneath them as they fell down with heavy thuds. Only one remained, the Dukni I had shot through the visor was still screaming in agony, it's blood spilling profusely onto the ground in a trail of where he'd stumbled pathetically to and fro. I had expected Richtofen to take the shot and end it's cursed existence, but he just stood there, frozen almost in silent admiration of the work of his rifle. I ended up picking up my assault rifle and shooting it again in the head where the visor was already broken, abruptly ending it's tortured screeches. The sudden end to the noise brought the doctor out of his stupor and he quickly took a look at his surroundings.

"Is zhat all zhey sent?" he questioned worriedly.

"Hopefully." I answered, looking around for anymore surprise attacks. After a quick look around our immediate area we regrouped and examined our kills.

"Five of them, very inexperienced too." I stated.

"Ja, probably only in zheir thirties." Richtofen suggested. I didn't much care for how old they were, I just cared that they were dead.

I put my SMG and assault rifle away after making sure they were topped off and ready for another ambush.

"Here come and help me with this." I called to him heading for the Duneracer that was blown onto it's side. Once we both had a hold of it we pushed it back onto it's wheels and I quickly checked for any severe damage. There wasn't any thankfully, but the body was badly dented in the front and the right side.

"Fuck, I'm gonna have to fix this one too!" I yelled kicking the closest rock I could find.

I already had two more I had to try and fix, but they would never be back because I didn't have to right parts to repair them. I was angry at everything right now and seeing Dr. Richtofen stare at me blankly just added to it.

"What!?" I growled venomously.

"I just... I didn't know you vere ze one who did ze repairs on zhese." he remarked putting his rifle away.

"Yeah, what of it? Does it surprise you that I fix these things?" I replied once again examining the damage that was making my blood boil.

He opened his mouth to say something and then closed it, then started to talk again.

"Is it just you?" he asked. I calmed down a bit, being angry at him wasn't going to get anywhere.

"Mostly, Dempsey tries to help me out, but he does more harm than good. Same goes for the rest of the militia." I answered him placing my hand on the roof and checking the interior.

"I see..." he said before drifting off into thought. I wasn't going to stay here, we'd just gotten attacked and there was no need to groan about the damage, it was still drive-able.

"C'mon, let's get out of here before anymore show up." I urged getting back into the badly torn seat. He gladly got in with me not wanting to get attacked again either. It took a while, but I got it started again and I drove it up onto the path again making sure not to push it too far as to make it completely useless. Dempsey wasn't going to be happy with this, I know I wasn't.

* * *

_Dempsey_

I could hear the strained groans of the battle-worn Duneracer and I rushed out of the gate to meet with the two.

"Jesus Christ! We heard the blasts from all the way over here! What the hell happened?" I asked, quickly looking them over to see if they were injured.

"Half-way through the route we went out at the survey point overlooking the flat, when we started going again we got ambushed. We managed to kill the Dukni, but I'm more worried about the ordinance they had than anything else." Rune relayed.

"You're okay though."

"Yeah, I'm fine, we both are."

"I told you that sending them on patrol was a bad idea." Takeo mocked from behind me.

"Can it, Manjurian I'm not in the mood!" I warned him violently. Nikolai had come down from the wall to join us and I immediately grabbed his attention with a wary glance. He stopped just in front of Takeo knowing why I didn't want him any closer.

"The Duneracer's in pretty rough shape." he remarked.

"Thanks Nikolai, tell me something I don't already know." Rune replied angrily.

I snapped my attention over to Dr. Richtofen who was waiting patiently for something.

"What?" I asked him, unaware of why he looked so calm.

"Zhey had Mark III Starblasters, at ze flat." he informed me.

"Starblasters?!"

"Ja, zhey vere aimed over in ze direction of ze military base. I vould suggest telling zhem zhis information as soon as possible." he added.

"Right. Nikolai, Takeo take the Duneracer into the garage," I ordered, "you and Rune are coming with me." I addressed the doctor and her.

We were in my office for the second time today, I searched for the report papers.

"Need you guys to fill these out. If we're going to tell the military about this it needs to be formal." I stressed handing them each a separate sheet.

"Vith all due respect Sergeant, I'd like to add zhat ze Dukni out zhere are very inexperienced. She und I had no real trouble in dispatching zhem." Richtofen said taking a look at Rune.

"Yeah, usually they don't send amateurs to set up that kind of equipment. I think something's up with the whole situation we had back there." she backed.

"Either way we gotta fill these out, just put that in there too. The military's better able to handle this job. We just don't have to manpower, nor the equipment to take out these things anymore." I replied. The last artillery emplacement we'd taken out was many years ago, back when I wasn't even in the militia yet, and it was the last one for a good reason. We lost too many in what was supposed to be a quick sabotage, it quickly "turned into a massacre" as Ian had put it back then.

Once the papers were done and filled out I took them quickly and started packaging them to be delivered to the military base.

"I knew something was up when you guys passed the one hour mark and I couldn't see the dust cloud where it normally should have been." I told them.

"I was driving a bit behind schedule, sorry Dempsey." Rune apologized weakly.

"No... you don't need to take it like that, I just meant that it worried me." I clarified.

"I'm still sorry though." she insisted. There was no point in arguing with here over it, she wouldn't take it back.

I changed my attention from her to the doctor who was sitting patiently strangely intrigued of everything around him now.

"It seems that you managed to handle yourself in that fight you got into." I remarked.

"Ja, zhey veren't much of a problem, like I said before zhey vere inexperienced und young. Zhey aren't nearly as challenging as some of ze one's I've faced." he replied. I just gave him a nod and finished with the reports before sending them out, but Rune came back into the doorway only a few minutes later.

"If it's any consolation Tank, he's one hell of an addition." she stated, referring to Richtofen. I just nodded again and she left for good that time leaving me to get to sending the reports to the military. I wasn't sure how they'd react to being targeted so blatantly by the Dukni, they'd never seemed to care about the base before, why start now? The question was going to drive me to my wit's end, it wasn't every day that the Dukni decided to take on stronger position on the planet and that scared me. If they were starting this now I could only imagine what they were really planning with this recent change in tactics.

After I was done sending off the reports and checking everything else in my office I headed outside. I saw Nikolai on the wall as he should have been, and Takeo had gone off to afternoon sniper duty at the furthest point of the plateau to the outpost's west side. I could hear the occasional banging of metal and hiss of power tools from the vehicle garage meaning that Rune was busy trying to mend the damage to the Duneracer that had occurred earlier. I wasn't due for patrol for another two hours so I made my way to the garage, but not before I had Nikolai grab my attention.

"So Tank, what do you think about the new decoration on my gun, eh?" he called hefting his rifle and pointing to the three Swarmer teeth dangling from thin threads at the grip.

"Where the hell'd you get those?" I asked.

"We had a few of them come by while you were in the barracks. No doubt curious of what Rune's doing in the garage. She's never been this noisy with her work." he commented.

"I'll agree with you on that. I'm gonna go talk to her, okay."

"All right, just make sure you don't get blow torched or anything, she's not in a good mood." he warned me before I went out the gate and strode to the garage.

Both the doors were open and there were a plethora of dented and broken pieces of the body of the recently damaged vehicle. As soon as I stepped in I saw the bright light of a laser cutter in my peripherals and quickly turned away.

"Holy crap that's bright." I commented. The light disappeared abruptly and I looked back at Rune who was surprised to see me.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked putting away the cutter and looking for another tool to use.

"I just wanted to see what you were doing." I replied.

"Thanks for your concern Tank, but if you've also come to offer to help me, forget it. You remember the last time you tried to help me you ended up making that transmission shit out. Mind you though, I still haven't gotten a replacement." she remarked in a stingy voice.

"Yeah, you don't have to remind me. I said I was sorry for that."

"Just when am I supposed to get the replacement? Or do you still not know?"

"They said it'd be next week."

She scoffed and grabbed the tempered titanium cutting blade along with a mask and a pair of heavy gloves.

"It better be coming in next week or I will personally drive to Eisenhower and get it myself." she said before starting to slice through the jammed piece of crushed metal on the hood. I averted my eyes again to avoid being blinded by the bright sparks that were flying every which direction.

"I guess I'll leave you to it then!" I shouted over the sound of metal tearing apart metal.

"Right then!" she replied.

I could feel the difference of the air once I stepped out, compared to the hot and metallic tinge of the garage it was thin and rustic-smelling. I'd seen people from Eisenhower come by Garrison and comment that the air around here was odd, it was either they didn't like the smell or they didn't like the thinness. The outpost was built on a plateau, but we weren't that high up, you could jump off the cliffs and live... if you played your cards right of course. Instead of going back inside I took short stroll outside of the wall and looked at the surrounding area. Miles of rolling terrain, dotted with pathetic vegetation that disappeared temporarily when the dust was kicked up by the wind.

To anyone else it would have been a true waste land, but to me and the rest of the residence of Garrison, this place was home and it was well worth fighting for. No matter how close to the fighting we were it would always be a sanctuary and it was the militia's job to keep it that way both inside the walls and out. I took a look up at the sky and could see gathering clouds off in the east, they were mixed with white and gray. More rain was definitely on the way, but from the way the clouds looked it wouldn't be as harsh as it had come down last time. I was glad that there would be more rain, it could start to get the grass growing again.

Even though I'd spent my entire life in Garrison I'd only seen parts of the land become covered in the patches of green only rarely. It was nothing like central Serna or in the south where people had taken up farming again, the highlands were a hostile place to begin with. Long before the Dukni bombed the planet; the Swarmers we were dealing with now-a-days were a byproduct of those bombs and the original quadrupedal hunters of the area. They used to resemble that of the wolves on Earth, but now they were tortured, and ghastly reflections of the once majestic (and tamable) animals. As for the rest of the original ecosystem it either died or became predatory for it's survival.

"Hey Dempsey!" I heard Nikolai call for me on the wall and I turned to see him.

"Yeah?!"

"Dr. Maxis wants to see you!" he told me.

"Alright I'm on my way!" I replied making my way back to the gate, passing by the garage once again and still hearing the loud sounds of metal on metal.


	19. Genetic Progeny

***Oooh, who's ready for a special new viewpoint!? I know I was when I wrote it!***

_Maxis_

"You wanted to see me?" Dempsey inquired as he walked into my office.

"Ja, I did. It's just a few questions about ze incident zhat happened." I replied.

"Neither of them were injured, just want you to know that." he assured me taking a seat.

"Zhat answers one of my questions."

"Alright, so what are the others?"

I sighed, I didn't want to ask him about it, but I was worried that something else had happened.

"Vas he acting a little... odd vhen he came back?" I asked. He seemed confused, raised an eyebrow and rubbed the back of his head.

"You mean Dr. Richtofen, right? He didn't seem to be acting weird, he looked pretty normal to me." he answered, no doubt curious of why I'd asked him that.

"Zhat's gut." I breathed.

"If I may ask..."

Here it comes, he was indeed curious of why I'd asked him that question.

"His implants, it's just the reflex one right?" he asked. I was surprised that I didn't hear a "just why are you asking?" or a "why is something wrong?".

"Ja, it should be, unless he's been making some additions to himself." I answered him.

"Mhmm. Is that so, then tell me Dr. Maxis..."

_Shizer!_

"Why..."

"Dr. Maxis." Edward's familiar voice had just saved me. Dempsey turned around to see him in the doorway.

"Ja, Edvard?" I replied, thanking fate for giving me this respite.

"Groph is in need of your presence immediately. He says that he's found more evidence in your project." he relayed to me in our mutual tongue leaving Sgt. Dempsey to wonder what he'd just said to me.

I couldn't pass up this precious discovery, I had to cut my time short with Sgt. Dempsey.

"I'm sorry, Sergeant. Zhis is extremely important, perhaps another time." I apologized. He leaned back into the chair and nodded to me.

"Right, you go take care of your science stuff." he said to me before I left, and he followed out of the door and then strolled casually out of the building. I headed quickly to the laboratory in the right wing of the building.

"Vhat have you found Groph?" I asked immediately upon entering the room.

"Well, sir, I've found unnatural radiation patterns to the far north of the outpost. It's unlike anything we've recorded before. It doesn't match any other radioactive patterns in the database." he informed me, bringing up the recording of the radiation reading and wave chart.

"An undiscovered element?" I questioned excitedly.

"Perhaps, but I'll have to run more tests to be sure it isn't something that has to do with the Dukni in the area."

Dr. Richtofen was standing next to the door, waiting for something, what it was I didn't know, but he was waiting.

"Something on your mind?" I asked him.

"I wanted to ask you something." he said, nudging his head towards the door.

"Keep up ze good vork Groph." I told Erik before leaving to speak with Edward. He started his question while we were walking down the hallway.

"I need your permission to carry on my work with the genetic project." he stated.

"Why is that? You're not in need of cadavers again are you?" I questioned.

"Nein, it's not that. I need some information on some of our more promising subjects."

"You mean Takeo and Rune. You should already be able to access their data."

"Not like that, Dr. Maxis."

"Then what do you mean by information?" I inquired, thoroughly curious of what he needed.

"I need more genetic information, and not just blood. I need hair and skin samples as well." he clarified.

"Just what the hell do you plan on doing with all that material?" I asked him, growing annoyed at his request for unconventional materials. He sighed and stopped mid-stride to explain his reasoning.

"I'm not going to lie to you. I need them to prove if a few of my suspicions are right or wrong." he started.

"And these suspicions include...?" I ushered him on.

"I've a feeling that some very important data on them is missing within the terms of genetic heritage. Takeo's family tree will only go so far back as 1945 before the database shows up as empty."

"Edward," I began, "whatever has been omitted from the database is just useless banter. It's no more good than an idiot rambling on about their hallucinatory achievements."

"But, Dr. Maxis, surely you're concerned about the lack of information on Ms. Albana." he tried to appeal to me.

"What information?" I asked him, expecting a pathetic answer.

"There's no connection between her and her mother."

"Ja, she was raised by her father, what did you expect."

"It's not that Dr. Maxis!" he urged.

His tone made me curious of just what I was missing, surely it wasn't that important.

"If her mother is who the database says it to be, then how come the blood trace came back negative." he stated.

"Negative, hmm. Perhaps she has a different mother, maybe the woman in the database was just clumsy error..."

"Then how come I can't find any other woman who matches the blood trace then? Sixteen billion humans in the galaxy and I can't find the single woman who would have been the mother to this girl." he complained his voice getting gradually louder until he was finished. Now I was more worried than curious about this odd phenomena.

"No one...?" I asked.

He shook his head strongly.

"Not a single one." he reiterated.

"There has to be some thing in that woman that matches her."

"That's why I need the other samples so I can see just how real her "mother" is. For all we know the woman in the database could be nothing more than an elaborate con."

"A con? What for?"

"Maybe to cover something up. You'd be surprised at the lengths some people go to cover their wrongdoings, no matter what they may be."

I was silent for a moment, contemplating all the possibilities that could possibly explain this scenario, and I couldn't decide on a single one.

"Very well then Edward, you have my permission, but if this turns out to be something we weren't to supposed to get into..." I said to him.

"I understand Dr. Maxis." he nodded.

"Good, now back to your work. I know you're not injured from your less than fortunate trip." I ended. He gladly marched away into another hallway and I was left standing without further purpose in the lobby.

* * *

_Krolok_

"You fools!" Elder Matak screamed, slamming his scepter onto the floor violently.

"Elder, we can explain..." I pleaded, but I was cut off with a stern glare.

"I do not need an explanation! You were ordered not to engage any humans! No matter how close in proximity they were!" he shouted. We, the remaining crew, all cringed at his words, we'd disobeyed orders and that was an offense punishable by death.

"Who among you is leader now?" he interrogated flashing his eyes at Paladin Dresnok whenever he stepped forward reluctantly.

"I am, Elder." he gulped. The Elder was deathly silent, glaring lasers at Dresnok until finally he grabbed a cryo-pistol from underneath his dark robe and promptly killed the Paladin. The rest of us had to watch in silent discomfort as the body next to us disintegrated into ashes. Matak replaced the cryo-pistol into hiding and cracked all six of his fingers before turning his back to us.

"Krolok!" he yelled.

I stood attentively, trying my best to disguise my fear.

"Yes, Elder?"

"You are now Paladin, take the remainder of your squadron and pick out fresh troops from the growth chamber." he ordered.

"The growth chamber, but Elder, those are inferior soldiers, we cannot carry out a mission on Agria with such inexperienced fodder." I protested.

"You will do as I have ordered, Krolok! Or do you want to be executed as well?" he hissed. I backed down and hung my head in defeat.

"No, Elder Matak." I replied, quietly.

"Then get to it, we've much to do before the arrival of Grand-master Thali."

"Yes, Elder."

I lead the rest of the squad out of Matak's chambers and back into the main room of the ship. Here most of the navigation was done, as well as communications to other Dukni ships.

We were one of the few ships that managed to survive when that Terran fleet bringing people onto the planet engaged us little more than a week ago. Only us and our sister ship, _To'mar'ko_, managed to escape the attack and now we were alone orbiting the planet. Most of the power of the ship was being diverted to our cloaking facilities, I had warned the head engineer that we needed to minimize our use of them, but he'd replied to me that he could not because Elder Matak had ordered him not to. I had no liking to Matak, he was an old, scaly fool who was only promoted to the status of Elder because of his birth-right as a Ki'la'zi Dukni. That may have been why he was so wary of me because I was also of that birth-right and therefore I could challenge his position at any moment.

I had no such intentions of ever becoming an Elder, I enjoyed being out and fighting for my race, but I had often wondered just how much we were fighting for now. True, we'd signed a treaty with the humans three years ago, but why the continued attempts to take Agria when all that was left was a dusty, dry husk.

"You all can go and re-armor yourselves, get resupplied, and prepare to go back onto the planet." I told the last four of my squad who left promptly. I was off to the growth chamber to pick out my lot of the lab-grown Va'zi'ha Dukni. They were a last resort to take on missions such as this, usually they were used as cannon fodder in invasions and take overs.

Inside the chamber was lit with ghostly blue lights with occasional streaks and spots of green and purple, the colors of our people's most sacred leaders. Dozens of large, slimy liquid filled tanks lined this chamber and they held a variety of low-class Dukni types in different stages of development. At the furthest reach of the chamber were the ones I was looking for, fully developed and ready to be animated. These inferior creations sickened me, they remained motionless in the slime, and although they looked like their designated types they were far from being up to par with naturally born Dukni. I had seen a few actually become well worth their time, but they were never allowed to achieve anything in the means of rank and status.

The first tank I stopped at was that of a replicated Go'ni'za, a brutish version of Dukni commonly used as shock troops. It's snout was short and large, fashioned with razor-sharp teeth and equally piercing orbs that passed for eyes. It had large muscles common to it's type and it's legs were bent in an animal-like way. Go'ni'za were notorious for leaping upon their foes and crushing them under their sheer weight, and perhaps that's why we lost so many in fights. It's skin was more of a chitin than anything else, underneath was a sensitive epidermis that when struck caused extreme discomfort to them.

I scanned the tank's control and found a name for the creature and selected to implant it within it's malleable brain. This one was Rak'Doki, a very common name among the Go'ni'za kind. I did not activate it's conscious yet, I still had several more to pick out before I would awaken them. Again I scoured the tanks for the promises of another fully matured Go'ni'za and I did eventually find another. Unfortunately, this one was defective physically, it's right eye was missing, but I was in no position to turn down anything I found at this point. I could set it up with an artificial one after it was activated.

The next kind I only needed just one of, a Pe'li'mi Dukni, they were the slender and perhaps the most disturbing of our race. The one I found was particularly uncouth; thin, black scales that shuddered under the most faint of lights. The four eyes were blank of expression and narrowed to the point of almost being closed, they did little for it anyway. Pe'li'mi had very poor eyesight and therefore always required special goggles to operate on missions, despite this they were deathly sneaky when they wanted to be. They were legendary assassins and rogues, their slim builds allowing them to crawl through openings in even human dwellings. Unlike the Go'ni'za they were normal bipeds, with the exception of their raptor-like feet.

Now all I needed was a single Va'zi Dukni, the most weakest form of our race, but they were hardly Dukni at all. They were lab-grown in every sense of the term, they were truly genetically engineered from scratch and had to be formed that way. They were shorter than other Dukni types, but they weren't made for physical strength, they were made for intellectual strength. Va'zi were quick thinkers, and learned quickly as well, often being used to translate human messages and encrypt our own. Unfortunately they only lasted for twenty years until their molecular structures began to decay and slowly die leaving only messy puddles of liquefied skin and muscles.

I quickly picked one, not wishing to see such an abomination for very long, let alone have to use it in my squad. I returned to the first tank I'd arrived at and activated it along with the other three I'd picked. The hissing of hydraulics filled the chamber and the tanks drained out the sustaining slime leaving the naked forms of the Dukni inside. They had nothing to hide within the realms of reproductive organs, lab-grown Dukni purposely lacked this feature as to not let their inferior blood run into the gamut of true-born Dukni. They marched immediately to the front of the growth chamber where the tanks began and stopped there awaiting their orders.

They were all programmed from development not to become fully aware until an order was given. I took my place in front of the currently brain dead creations and looked them over in disgust.

"What sick things you are." I muttered under my breath before training my bearing and giving them their first command.

"You four are to arm yourselves and prepare to launch down to the planet Agria. You will be given further instruction once on the surface." I commanded them and they all snapped to life.

"Yes, Paladin Krolok." they all said simultaneously.

They left the growth chamber without another word and I was left in the eerily quite room.

"Such a disgusting place." I growled leaving the room myself. I still had to prepare myself for the launch and I hadn't even gone to recharge my armor or get ammunition for my weapons. We were due on the planet in three more hours, but I wanted to arrive there early to make sure that the mission would be done right.


	20. A Match Not Made In Any Natural Way

_Nikolai_

It was day two of the scientist being among our ranks, something I had to grudgingly get used to or else Tank would have my ass about it. For the most part he hadn't bother anyone, he just did what he was told without much complaint. Of course when it intervened with his research schedule he'd usually be a bit angry about it, but we'd find a way to compromise. It was still only a "test run" week, we were watching and assessing his strengths and coming up with places to put him. Yesterday we'd found out he could handle himself in the face of a Dukni encounter which was good to know.

Now we needed to see more than just defending himself from the creatures, personally I wanted to see him take one in hand-to-hand combat, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. The next best thing was to take out a newly formed Swarmer nest that had been made to the west of the outpost. It was a task that should have been easy enough, if there weren't any alphas or newly made mothers with her pups. I was to watch from the western wall and see if he could pull off clearing the nest. There was an inconvenient set of boulders that blocked my view from seeing exactly what he did so I had to go by ear to check if he was doing all right.

Three successive shots rang out from behind the boulders and the latent screech of a single mutated beast cried out, but was quickly silenced by a fourth shot. Four Swarmers wasn't bad, but there had to be more, it was their birthing season after all. The distinct _clink_ of a grenade pin assured me that he wasn't going to take chances and I saw him rush to the other side of the boulders where I could see him. The explosion was muffled and a huge puff of dust and debris sent chunks of the creatures flying into the sky and landing with gory satisfaction. After a while he went back around and most likely scoped out the next, because he came back with the tattered remains of one's pelt.

"You get them?" I asked from atop the wall.

"Ja, it vasn't zhat deep, ze grenade got ze rest of zhem." he answered holding up the ragged pelt.

"Good, come back in and we'll get you on your next assignment." I told him as he rounded the wall and approached the gate. He was able to take care of Swarmers, of course they were about the easiest thing to kill out here, granted you weren't trying to take down an alpha. It was a job that had to be done nonetheless, in large numbers they'd been known to clear entire towns in mere hours.

A few minutes after he'd come into the outpost I saw Rune heading out and making a beeline for the garage. She was more determined than ever to repair the Duneracers as of late, but I didn't know why. We didn't have all the parts to fix them properly, the only one she could work on was the one she was in yesterday. I guess it didn't really matter, she was working on them again and that was a good thing, seeing as no one else was handy at repairing them. Rune was more talented than her father when it came to repairing vehicles, for what reason nobody knew, but it was more than a god-send for us.

Unlike yesterday though, she had the door closed most likely because of the threat of drawing in curious predators with all the noise she made. Even with the garage door closed I could hear the screech of metal and the hiss of the laser cutter. I had to wonder when she would ever pull out her old racer and try working on that again. Last year she'd only took it out once and then put it back into storage again. It's not like it was an impossible fix, all she had left to do on it was the front which was still dented from the impact of the last time she'd actually drove it.

The damage wasn't from an accident either, when she raced it last year she'd been deliberately rammed by another racer who was in with another guy. Obviously, she wasn't able to continue until she fixed the thing, but she never did and she let that whole season go by. Even Tank and I had tried to talk her into racing again, it was good money when she won, in fact it was the hobby that was paying for all her parts to fix the Duneracers. Hell, some of it she even gave to me to buy some of my vodka, (that was now long gone and soaked into the ground) and even Takeo's sniper sight was curtsy of her winnings. Perhaps that incident last year had knocked the urge out of her, but it was always hard to tell.

I'd seen her on some nights, usually when everyone else was asleep, go to the storage building and just stand at the door. All she did was just stand there and stare at that door like she was paralyzed whenever she looked at it. Maybe she would take up racing again this year, it wasn't until summer when the races started, she still had time to fix her racer.

"Nikolai." I heard Dempsey call from the ground.

"Da?"

"Your shift's up, I'm letting Richtofen take wall duty for a while." he informed me with the doctor standing patiently behind him.

I looked at him then at Richtofen and then made my way down the ladder and onto terra firma.

"There you go. Shouldn't be too much to see, you did just take care of that nest of Swarmers." I assured him. He only nodded and climbed up the ladder and took a spot on the western wall as some of the other militia switched out as well.

"Where's Rune at?" he asked me as soon as I passed him.

"She's in the garage." I answered.

"Alright then, I might just pay a visit then."

He was welcome to try, she still looked a little pissed off from yesterday and I was more than willing to stay out of that. When she was sad it was okay to try and get her to feel better, but when she was pissed, she was pissed until she got her mind off of whatever was making her mad. This time it was probably going to take a while.

* * *

_Takeo_

The wind was picking up as the day drew on and Vega slowly passed by overhead and was often covered by the army of clouds marching across the sky. The air was cooling as well, the breeze was gentle and welcoming as to contrast with the coming summer which would bring harsh and blistering hot gusts. Sniper duty was not as taxing today as it had been because of this suddenly nice weather, but that did not mean that danger was not at hand. Dukni activity was back and I was always alert for that. Very early in the morning when I'd first set up for today I saw the military convoy come by and start for where the artillery placement was that Rune and Richtofen had found yesterday.

I had yet to hear anything on their status, nor had I seen the convoy go by again. It had been four hours since they took off in that direction and I was generally concerned that they had been defeated. There was also the possibility that they were setting up, waiting for the Dukni operators to return so they could take out two birds with one stone, so to speak. Just then there was a sudden, strong gust of wind that managed to blow bits of sparse vegetation towards me from where the artillery emplacement was located. It certainly was a blast charge because in the distance I could see a column of dust along with the tiny, bright specks of red cinders along it's path.

"One less thing for us to worry about." I muttered to myself looking into my scope and getting a closer look at the column of dust and smoke. Just as I looked out at it I could see a faint disruption of the air that moved upwards, higher and higher. A Dukni vessel for sure, but I would not be able to shoot it down, I could only hope that the military group had managed to only leave very few survivors. I would only be here for another hour and would not be able to see the convoy go by again, but if I stayed the extra hour Dempsey would be worried. I would get word on it either way, so I focused on looking for any stragglers that may have gotten away from the military convoy until I had to report back to the outpost.

As I approached closer to Garrison I was passed by a patrol group that was taking the long route, most likely because of the military taking care of the short route through their task of clearing the emplacement. I could also hear the trademark sound of metal work being done, Rune was fixing the Duneracers for sure. Upon the wall I could see Dr. Richtofen carefully scanning the west for any sign of intruders, he looked almost statue-like standing up there. As I made my was past the garage I encountered Dempsey who'd just left from there.

"So, Takeo, anything to report?" he asked me.

"Just that the military took out the artillery pracement, and probably a few Dukni as werr." I relayed.

"Alright, one less problem for us to deal with." he praised.

I went inside the barracks and rested for a while before heading back outside just in time to meet the convoy. The leader of the unit was currently speaking with Dempsey while the rest of his band shuffled restlessly in their vehicles.

"Thanks for the warning Sgt. Dempsey." the leader thanked.

"No problem, sir. We're always watching out for our soldiers." Dempsey replied proudly.

"If you find anymore of those placements don't hesitate to send their locations to us. We haven't gotten much action in a while and it's starting to take a toll on moral and all."

"Sure thing, sir. You all be careful on your way back, it's going to rain and you know how the paths get."

"Will do, Sergeant." the unit leader said before hopping back into the leader truck and then taking off with the rest of the unit following him.

"Good news Tak, they did end up getting some Dukni in the process. Hell, they even captured one of them to take back for interrogation." Tank informed me happily. I only nodded, satisfied that they had managed to capture one and send many more to their deaths. He passed me by having said his piece and carried on to tell others of the job well done. I scanned around, looking out of the gate and seeing the garage from afar, the door was open and there was silence from it now. Rune was sitting on the hood of the recently repaired Duneracer, even from a distance I could see that her face was covered in soot, but she didn't look like she was happy about her recent achievement. How could she be, she still had two more to fix, and they still lacked the parts needed to do just that.

Parts that wouldn't be coming in for a long while along with some other supplies marked to be brought to the outpost. She slid down from the hood and started putting up the tools she was just using, but she stopped in the midst of grabbing the power saw and looked upward. She stood there for a while, her hand gradually coming back down to her side. I decided to move on with my business and head for home while I still had a break before lunch and then a patrol.

* * *

_Richtofen_

"Ah, Dr. Richtofen come to join the scientific rabble again I see." Groph chided as I walked into the building.

"Yes, while you're out there getting time to yourself we're stuck inside of this building having to listen to Maxis boss us around all day." Simons joined in.

"Vould you rather me be in hier all day making you vork just as hard as Maxis does?" I inquired humorously.

"Nevermind, you got me on that one." Simons replied.

"Zhat's vhat I thought." I said before turning down the hallway and going into my room.

Inside I was greeted by Dr. Maxis who had just got down laying down the samples I'd asked for yesterday. He looked at me surprised to see that I'd come back at all from my militia duties.

"Edward, I got the samples you wanted, all taken rather reluctantly on the subjects' behaves this morning." he informed me, pointing to the four small bottles containing hair and skin samples from Takeo and Rune.

"Thank you Dr. Maxis. I'll make sure the information I get from this research can be implemented in some way." I thanked him.

"I hope so Richtofen, I hope so." he ended before walking out of the my room and heading down the hallway, parting out of sight.

Piece by piece I stripped my armor off slowly becoming lighter with each part discarded until there was nothing left, but the jumpsuit. The sting of cold air on my skin made my senses heighten, it was always cold in my room, I didn't like it any other way. Many of the others complained of this especially back on Earth during the winter time when they expected everyone had their heat turned on. I did have it on, but it was only enough so that it was brisk sixty degrees at least. I'd had Groph comically theorize why I always like the cold, they almost always ended with the statement "a cold-blooded man trying to keep his touch...".

A sudden pain from the scar down my eye brought my hand instinctively to the left side of my face. My thoughts were disrupted and I was determined to dress myself so I could start my research on the two most promising subjects. After I was clothed again I took all four of the bottles and made my way to the room designated as the "Genetics Room" respectively. There I spent the next three hours analyzing everything I could from the different samples, and as I did my curiosity grew as did my uneasiness. All the data I was gaining on Takeo was rightfully placed and now his family data was stretched as far back as the early 16th century. Miss Albana, however, was a much more intriguing conundrum.

The hair sample was the only thing that matched with her supposed mother, Angela Greenspurg. The skin sample didn't match, just as the blood samples had failed to do and it was very unnerving. With all the DNA evidence I was struggling with piecing this together, surely the database wouldn't be so careless as to omit such important data, then again what if it wasn't a mistake. What if this was real, and that this data was indeed correct to the finest detail; in that case, just why was this so. I had to know why, it was my duty as scientist to discover why this was so.

I tried to match her skin sample with all of the data I could get on any females in the universe... nothing. Not a single one matched, I was becoming frustrated, just why was this happening and how? Perhaps I was messing up somewhere, but that couldn't be right, I'd been at this for so long and retried so many times, that couldn't be it. That's when it hit me, it was a terrible feeling of suspicion that, if correct, would be seriously consequential to any who were responsible for this incident and for anyone who knew of it. For a while I couldn't bring myself to do it, but I had to, if I didn't Maxis would be upset with me for not having done it.

I breathed heavily and exhaled in finality before searching, not within the female database, but in the male database. I leaned back in my chair and was stuck staring at the holographic screen for a long time.

"This can't be right... it shouldn't be..." I gasped. I felt terrible for having uncovered the answer to this scientific mystery, I didn't have the heart to let it get to Maxis, but if I didn't tell him someone else would. At least if I told him I could defend the matter, and perhaps persuade him from reporting this. Maybe that was a little far-fetched, but with this kind of information, far-fetched was more than enough to convince me to do it.

"Just why? You didn't have to do this Lieutenant... you never had to do this..." I repeated over and over again. The screen flashed with the matching data and every minute I spent looking at it the worse I felt.


	21. Of Choice (Voltaire-inspired)

***A single viewpoint chapter, curtsy of psychology and philosophy being stuck in my head and wanting a more mentally intense scene for the (most likely) many more to come.***

_Rune_

It was late that night when I heard a knock on the barracks door that rustled me out of my slumber. I heard muffled footsteps that belonged to Dempsey who was probably up doing the rest of the reports from the day's events. I could make out hushed conversation, the voices were all familiar, the accents made it even clearer of whom was here at this hour of night.

"Keep quiet though, a lot of the militia's sleeping." I heard Dempsey warn as he passed by my door and kept going with two other sets of footsteps following behind him. I was curious as to what would bring the two Germans to talk to Tank so late at night, surely no one had died without us knowing.

Now because of that curiosity I couldn't fall back to sleep and I tossed and turned miserably in my bed. Even though I could hear the light patter of rain droplets on the window it would not lull me back to sleep. Five minutes of trying to do so proved fruitless, there was no point in trying to force it. I got up from my bed and decided to sate my curiosity of just why those two were here, and just what they were talking to Dempsey about. I kept my footsteps almost completely inaudible, I wasn't wearing boots or shoes so that helped to keep me stealthy. As I got closer to his office door I could make out pieces of their conversation.

Things like "We were just as surprised as you..." and "We thought you knew..." were very suspicious and also a red herring to the fact that I probably wasn't supposed to be hearing any of this, but I was determined to find out what it was they were talking about. I edged carefully to the door and stayed outside it, now I was close enough to hear the conversation quite clearly.

"You can't being say that..." Dempsey was speaking, but was cut off abruptly by Richtofen.

"But it's true, Sergeant, ze results do not lie." he entered.

"It just can't be, I've known Rune for years and never was I ever told of this." Dempsey seemed outraged.

Wait, they were talking about me, talking about something I was supposed to know. At first I was terrified that they were telling him something I'd gotten into with my hacking, but as the talking dragged on I learned more and more of the true subject matter.

"Sgt. Dempsey, you have to understand, ve veren't expecting it either, but..." Maxis had come in again.

"Ian never told me any of this... not even remotely." Dempsey sighed in a defeated tone.

"It's not a simple matter, genetic modification, especially on zhis level is a federal crime. He never told you because he vas afraid you might let it slip somevhere along ze vay." Richtofen explained. Genetic modification on me?

I was confused, just what kind of modification, I surely didn't have anything superbly special about me, I was a civilian average nanobot count. I didn't have any kinds of implants or enhancements I was sure... but hearing this made me wonder so many different things. Perhaps they were mistaken, but I heard something else, something that made my blood freeze.

"She can't be a clone, she's a female, she doesn't look exactly like him. She's a normal human girl." Dempsey protested. A clone?!

"As I said before, ze results don't lie. Rune is a genetic copy, more or less, of Ian. Vhy zhis is so I don't know, but ze man vas always peculiar of keeping his line going. She may have very vell been his last attempt at furthering his bloodline."

"If she's a clone then explain her birth certificate, signed by a real doctor in a real hospital!" Tank was more enraged than anything now.

"She had a surrogate mother, a Ms. Rhiannon Flemens, to be precise." Richtofen informed. Rhiannon Flemens... I'd heard that name before, but I couldn't place a face to it.

"Zombie? Of Legend platoon?" Tank gasped. That's right that was who she was, but... she was _my _surrogate mother, it was hard to believe.

"Wait, but if she was pregnant I would have known, she was around before Rune was born and I remember seeing her very often around here."

"Rune vas "implanted" for a lack of a better word, into Ms. Flemens in ze late stages of development."

"That's not possible...is it?" Tank was unsure of himself.

"Vith vhat ve can do vith human genetics und anatomy, zhere's hardly nothing ve cannot do. Implanting a late stage fetus into a willing surrogate is just a small task vhen compared to vhat else science can accomplish in zhis age." Maxis assured.

"I just... I can't believe Ian never told me... and Rune's never said anything about it either."

"She most likely doesn't know Sgt. Dempsey, zhere's no need to try and get anything out of her." Richtofen entered. I couldn't believe a single word of it, I was a clone? No that wasn't right I couldn't be I was unique, I wasn't a copy of my father surely. I was a human being, I was born and I was raised just like any other child.

"You know zhis is a matter of federal security Dempsey, und if vord of zhis gets out zhey vill take her avay und..." Maxis began.

"I know what they'll do..." Dempsey growled, the room was silent. I slumped onto the floor, I wasn't a clone... I was a normal person, father would never had done something like this and even if he did he'd have told me. I had a normal mother not a surrogate, I just knew I did, just because I never saw her didn't mean she wasn't aware of my existence. She was living on Mars, happily aware that I was here on Agria alive and well.

I stuck there sitting on the ground pathetically, trying to understand what I'd just heard. I was so engrossed that I didn't even hear the door open and when I saw the two scientists in my peripherals I ran on instinct. They lied, I wasn't some kind of lab-grown specimen, I was a normal human woman, born like a normal human, raised like a normal human, made like a normal human. The barracks door was hardly an obstacle and I slammed it open, probably waking a few of the men who were asleep, but I didn't care. I just ran, not caring where I was going I was only worried about getting away from them, they had lied, I was normal. My father would never had done something like that, he'd never said anything about it ever.

Once my body was tired out, burning with the fires of exhaustion I found myself at the place where I went to get all of my answers. My father's grave, his simple wooden cross sticking into to the ground, shining with the glaze of rain coating it. I had hardly noticed it was raining, and now it felt like a shower of bullets, the chill had just now hit me as well and I knelled miserably over the damp earth that within housed the remains of my father. With the recent revelation I had to wonder if he really was my father, and not just some man assigned to take care of me. I was normal, I wasn't a clone, I wasn't a genetic copy, I wasn't any of that high treason scientific stuff. I was a normal human woman, living on Agria like a normal Agrian citizen.

I knelt there for a long time, I could feel the rain soak me down to the bone, but I did not shake out of the cold, I shook because I still couldn't understand. My mind was just a broken record, I kept trying to convince myself that what they'd said was a lie, but every time I'd think about it the more and more true it was sounding. Why, it shouldn't have been that way, it had to be a lie, it just had to be. My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone approaching me from behind. It wasn't Dempsey though, the footsteps were too light, and I would never hear Takeo coming.

"So, zhis is vhere he lies." I heard Richtofen remark.

I was too conflicted to be angry at him, but I could feel my blood boiling just knowing he was there.

"Ironic, I alvays thought he'd die in a more... "flashy" vay. Like on a charge into a horde of Dukni Go'ni'za, or maybe ramming himself into a flagship to stop a spacial invasion." he continued. I just stayed silent as he knelt down on one knee to my left side and admired the cross that marked my father's grave.

"Why...?" I squeaked out. I heard Richtofen sigh heavily beside me and then caught a glimpse of movement as he looked upward at the clouded sky still sending down rain.

"He vas alvays an interesting man, very peculiar about things. He'd told me once how he'd once vitnessed a voman dying before his very eyes vhen he vas younger. She vas ze most beautiful voman he'd ever laid eyes upon, he said..." he stopped and I assumed he looked at me, "do you know who zhat voman vas?"

I shook my head, I wasn't in the mood for guessing games.

"It vas his mother, right after he vas born in fact." he told me.

"At least he was born like a normal person." I growled bitterly.

"His mother vas a surrogate." he added.

Just what kind of sick game was he playing at, I wasn't in the mood for this kind of mind shit from him.

"What the hell do you want from me!?" I screamed, all the anger that had been building because of him was all let out in it. He didn't even flinch from me, he just stared at me calmly, attempting to force an air of sanctuary.

"I vant you to know zhat he did it because he vanted you to be stronger zhan he vas. He vanted you to be able to be everything he couldn't be, because he was born und not given a choice of vhat he could be." he replied. I didn't understand this either, he was given plenty of choice wasn't he?

"Ian vas born, more or less, in ze same vay you vere, but he vas born to be a soldier. He vas made for var, raised for it, bred to be used in it. Ze military made him, but zhey could not control him completely. He resented his creators, his "fathers", but he vent on vith their intentions until ze day vhen he could finally find a vay to get revenge on zhem." he tried to explain to me.

"I don't understand..."

"He made you to be ze mockery of vhat zhey'd done to make him. You vere not forced to live out a life zhat someone else dictated for you. You vere not bred, you vere purposely mixed, your "mother's" DNA, your surrogate, all a matter of choice..." he stopped and looked at me expectantly.

"I was made so that he could have a choice..." I concluded weakly.

"Ja. Vhat his "fathers" had repressed in him, he let you have ze opportunity to let it out. Ian vas as defiant of a man as you'd ever meet. No mission vent vithout his unofficial change, no order came through vithout his personal paraphrasing, und no man he ever met vould be left unchanged. Including myself, but know zhat he also vanted you to have a choice as vell. You never had to stay on Agria, but you chose to, you never had to listen to a single vord he said, but you did anyvay. A liberty he never had vhen he vas growing up."

"You're slandering the military quite thoroughly for an ex-soldier like yourself." I managed to humorously put out.

"It's only ze super classified military zhat does zhat. Just because ze men behind ze scenes are corrupt doesn't mean zhat ze men zhey use are too."

"Like my dad."

"Exactly."

"You're not "corrupt" are you? You're not just lying to get on my good side and then turn me into the government so they can run bat-shit crazy experiments on me... are you?" I asked, my voice returning.

He gave me a sincere look, and with a strong tone he answered in what I knew completely to be the truth.

"I vould never put you through vhat zhey put him through. Vhat zhey put _all_ of Legend platoon through." he answered. I was still feeling confused about the fact that I was some kind of lab-made human, but now that I put some time into really thinking about it I realized that I choose to be normal. I believed it this whole time, but what was the difference if I was a genetically made person, I was no different looking, no different sounding, and no different thinking like a normal person was. With all this talk of free will and choice I could even choose to be more human, than human.

"You weren't born that way too, were you?" I asked.

"Nein, nein, nein," he denounced quickly, "I vas normally born, normally made."

He chuckled at the end, I felt a little better, but the previous bitterness from before was starting to creep it's way back in.

"Ze rain's stopped." he commented out of the blue. I instinctively looked around me and saw that it had indeed ceased and now I felt the wind and how cold it was on my soaked body. I wrapped my arms around me and started shivering because of the chill slowly growing on me.

"Here," he placed his lab coat around me, "let's get you inside so you can get dry."

I wasn't sure how I felt about all these recent attempts to make friends with him, both on my part and his, but I had the feeling that my father had something to do with his friendliness. As for me, I could have chosen to live in paranoia of him like the other three had done, but I didn't. Choice... it was something I'd never thought about before, something that I'd taken for granted, but now I couldn't stop thinking about it. I didn't have to accept his coat, but I did anyway, I never had to listen to him, but I did.

It was like I'd just had a session with Voltaire, hell for all I knew Richtofen could have very damn well chosen to do things like him. Once I was back into the barracks the tiredness that I had hoped for much earlier had now found it's way into me.

"Do you need anymore help, Ms. Albana?" Richtofen asked politely taking back his coat gently.

"No, I'll be fine..." I said, but I was hesitant to say the rest of what I wanted. He was already holding the door handle when I started the rest of my sentence.

"Thank you, Dr. Richtofen."

"Bitte, zhat's a little much now," he turned to face me and smiled, "from now on you can call me by however you feel most comfortable. Think of it as a tribute to your father's strive for free vill."

He left the barracks, closing the door softly and leaving me to sleep walk my way back into my room. I changed my particularly soggy clothes for dryer substitutes and planted myself onto the bed. I didn't even get the chance to pull up the covers before I was dead asleep, my dreams full of the affirmation of choice.


	22. Fortune Smiles On The Hard Working

***Mother of late updating. I've been extremely busy this past week with barely any time to write until today. But have no fear the new chapter is here and I'm working on the next one now. Hopefully it isn't so busy next week either.***

_Dempsey_

I wasn't looking forward to having to tell Rune about what Dr. Maxis and Dr. Richtofen told me last night. It was the last thing she'd want to hear, and honestly I was utterly unprepared for such a rude awakening. I didn't get any good sleep last night and I was horribly tired and to top it off I was still trying to figure out a way to break this to her. I didn't want to, but her being a "genetically altered clone", as Richtofen had put it, needed to be known. I'm sure Ian would have told her himself before his sudden death and I took it upon myself to inform her of this.

All day she'd been in a rather good mood, and that made it worse to try and tell her, but it had to be done. Once her time on the wall was over I called her down and took her over behind the barracks, I knew that the soldiers awake inside would hear if I were to tell her in my office.

"So what do you need Tank?" she asked unaware of what I was about to tell her.

"I need to tell you something..." I started. She raised an eyebrow almost like she was expecting what I had to say.

"Go on." she urged.

"I had Dr. Maxis and Dr. Richtofen come into my office last night and they told me something they found in their research."

"And what would that be?" she continued asking, her tone not even faltering in the slightest.

"Well... they found some things that relate to you and... you're not going to like what I have to tell you." I started to cringe expecting the worst as I began to tell her the unexpected revelation.

"Out with it Tank, I've still got a patrol to run."

"You're a clone of Ian, a genetically altered clone." I spat out quickly. I had expected a punch to the face or the quiet sobbing of realization, but it was just silent.

I dared to open my eyes to see how she had reacted and I was thoroughly surprised to see that she didn't so much as blink to this information.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned that I'd just cause her to freeze up.

"I'm fine Dempsey, I heard all about that last night." she replied.

"You did?!" I was shocked to hear that she'd been awake last night.

"I heard you guys talking last night and I went to see what it was about and I heard that and... I had an episode, but it's all right now." she explained in a timid voice, rubbing her arm as she went along.

"You mean, you're not upset about it? Not even a little bit?" I inquired.

"I am, but..." she stopped and thought of what to say, "I ran out of the barracks after I heard it and I went to dad's grave. I was there for a while and I guess Dr. Richtofen heard me leave and he found me and... sort of answered some things for me." she went on.

"What kind of things?" I asked, leery that the doctor would act so "nice" all of the sudden.

"Did you know Ian had a surrogate mother?" she asked me.

"He... he did?"

"Yeah, it would seem that he and I were born, er... made the same way. Ian was a genetically made human too."

Now the tables had turned and instead of my expectation of her being shocked, it was me instead.

"Just what the hell was Ian made for?!" I blurted out my thoughts.

"Richtofen told me that he was made to be a soldier, that the military made him."

"The military doesn't allow lab-grown humans in, and the federal government made it illegal to clone, or engineer humans. It's... it's unethical." I said getting a queer look from her.

"Unethical...? You're saying this to me? The woman who just found out that they're the "unethical" creation." she narrowed her eyes at me. I'd messed up big time, I was prepared for a slap or something, but again nothing happened.

After some time I just heard her laughing, it caught me off guard to hear laughter about a subject that could result in a death penalty.

"You're laughing now...?"

"Yeah, the look on your face. You thought I was going to hit you, didn't you?"

"Well of course I did, how else were you supposed to react?"

"Like this apparently. I'm fine Dempsey, really. You don't have to worry about it. Yes, I'm a little shaken at the revelation, but I can come to accept it, especially since Ian was the same way. He made me so that I could do what he couldn't."

"And what would that be?"

She smiled softly and looked at the area behind me.

"Choose." she said simply and then walked by me.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"To go and work on the Duneracers before patrol." she answered and then started running out of my line of sight. I was stuck behind the barracks, utterly surprised that she hadn't reacted at all like I thought she would. She was more or less okay with this, and to know that Ian was the same way... it made me wonder so much.

"Just what other secrets did you take with you Ian?" I muttered to myself. I unconsciously checked the time, 13:14, it would be afternoon patrol soon. I still couldn't wrap my head around how she could be okay with being a "clone" of her own father. Maybe I was thinking about it too hard, or maybe because she was genetically made she was programmed not to overreact about it, but then I stopped thinking about it.

_Dempsey, cut it out. You're gonna give yourself a headache if you keep that up._

* * *

_Nikolai_

Morning patrol had been uneventful, ever since the artillery placement had been destroyed it seemed that the Dukni were scarce to be found. The military had probably scared them off and with that prisoner in tow they could probably find a few more Dukni camps that they could take out. I was actually kind of sad that we didn't have anything to do. No camps to take out, no things to report, we were again stuck in a boring rut of nothing happening. Not even back at the outpost did we have anything to do, except for perhaps loaf around waiting for the day to pass just so we could sleep again.

One thing that was actually of note today was when Dempsey broke some disturbing news to Takeo and I very early this morning. I didn't want to think about it in a bad way, but nonetheless it was a bit unnerving to know that we had an illegal creation on our hands that we hadn't been aware of for a very long time. From what I could tell Takeo wasn't in the least bit concerned about this, he was probably too affixed on trying to find Dukni to kill. In a way I was like that too, but I still didn't like the fact that Ian never told any of us, that or he never got the chance to. The one thing that I could say that I did appreciate now was the fact that the scientists weren't going to report this to the government.

It was more likely that they didn't want to tell them because they wanted to do some kind of experiments on her, something I didn't appreciate about them. It was their job, but I could do without the fear of them "accidentally" killing off one of our own. To make matters worse, the fact that they were delving into information like that only amplified my reasoning to think that it was indeed what they were going for. For their sake, it would be in their best interests to just stay away from her, but with Rune's recent attempts to make "friends" with the psychotic one I was all the more alert. One wrong move and I would gladly blow that freak's head off the rest of his being.

Outside I could once again hear the whirling of power tools and the hiss of lasers. Rune was most likely setting up for the afternoon patrol, making last minute checks and touch-ups to the Duneracer she'd managed to fix. I was really hoping that we'd get the parts needed to fix the other ones, but it would be a few more days until we got any more supplies delivered to us. Hopefully it was a large supply run, we were in need of some essential things (and honestly I was hoping I could sneak a bottle of vodka out). Nevertheless we needed it soon, or else things were going to get a little edgy in Garrison not only for the militia, but for the civilians as well.

"Hey, Nikolai!" I heard Rune yell at me as I passed by the gate, which had been opened to allow the militia out for the afternoon patrol.

"What is it?" I replied.

"Come help me with this would ya!" she shouted trying to heft up a heavy piece of the Duneracer. I humbly obeyed and helped her place the last piece of frontal armor as she welded it back into place.

"Thanks, that's all I needed." she said simply quickly putting away all the tools.

Subconsciously I looked around and found my attention fixed on the well-polished trophies and numerous ribbons placed on various shelves.

"Do you think you're going to race this summer?" I asked her. She stopped in the middle of cleaning off the grime from her face and looked up at the awards herself.

"I don't know yet..." she quietly replied.

"You do have a lot of time still left to think about it. Don't sweat it." I assured her before I left due to the awkward silence that ensued.

Just as I went back through the gate I passed Dr. Richtofen, we didn't exchange any words or looks we just passed each other silently. I didn't like it that Dempsey had put him on all the patrols that Rune was on. It was unnerving, there were so many things that could happen and I was more than ready to believe they could happen. Then again, it was part of trying to get her back into the swing of things as well as teaching a new member how things worked. It was essentially killing two birds with one stone, but I was very leery about one of the those birds. A bird that had a sketchy past, and even sketchier means as to why he was even here.

After a while I heard two Duneracers start up and take off down the long route as their dust clouds reached out to the further end of the plateau. I had nothing to do for a while, that was until I was approached by Dempsey who had some rather unpleasing news for me.

"What?! Can't you take them?" I protested.

"I have to stay here Nikolai, I've got sniper duty in a few hours." Tank replied.

"Let me take over your sniper duty. I don't want to have to babysit them."

"Nikolai, it's not even an hour's walk where they need to go. You'll be fine, all they need is a few samples of some of the swarmers that were dealt with yesterday."

"But, I..."

"That's an order Belinksi!" he ended.

Chyort. I didn't want to have to watch the scientists on their fieldwork, why couldn't they just let us bring back a swarmer corpse. It was a hell of a lot safer and time efficient than them going out there and taking the risk of getting killed by some other creatures that had been brought by the prospect of some easy food. Orders, were orders though, as much as I hated them I had to obey them, but when I saw who I would be taking I really just wanted to find Tank and punch him in the face.

"You two?" I growled.

"Yeah, the others are busy so we're the ones going." Simons answered me hefting some equipment on his back, while Dr. Hartlin moved her hair out of her face.

"Let's just get going." I sighed.

* * *

_Takeo_

"I take it, Nikorai was ress than preased at the news." I chuckled as Dempsey walked into the barracks.

"As per usual." he answered.

"As much as he comprains about not doing anything I thought he would be happy to get something to do." I continued.

"You know how he is about the scientists."

"Honestry I do not brame him."

I would have refused it myself had I not had to go on evening patrol and therefore was exempt from such a task. He said nothing more and headed straight for his office do finish up some other work he was busy with before. A few moments later there was a call, not from his office, but from the main barracks itself. I left the hallway to see that no one else was answering it.

"Who is it?" I asked curious as to why they were not answering.

"Don't know, sir. Some Martian number for sure, but from whom I can't say." one of the militia answered.

I went over and tapped the answer button and picked up the receiver.

"Herro..." I said, before a calm female voice, obviously automated answered me.

"Hello, on behalf of the Mons Olympus Transportation Company I'm informing you that due to fair spacial weather all shipments to Agria will be arriving early. Shipments should be arriving today at 15:30 to the major space ports. Thank you for your continued patronage and Mons Olympus wishes you a fantastic day."

This was very good news, I was very tempted to burst out into a fit of happiness, but I refrained from such an act, it would look very undisciplined.

"So, what was that all about Captain?" one of them asked. I turned to face them and with a smile on my face I told them the news.

"Our supplies are coming in today."

They all celebrated the news, laughing and cheering at the good fortune we were brought. I went straight to Dempsey's office to inform him as well.

"What do you need Tak?" he asked looking up from the last sheet of a report.

"I have very good news Tank."

"Oh yeah, what would that be?"

"The shipments are coming in early."

He raised an eyebrow and put away the report before fixing his attention to me again.

"Just how early are we talking about?" he questioned.

"Today." I answered simply. He literally jumped up from his chair in excitement he was so happy.

"Fuck yeah!" he exclaimed then quickly re-poised himself.

"Grad to see that you're happy about this."

"Yeah, but just how did they managed to get here so early?"

"Apparently they had good spacial weather."

He shook his head, content with that answer and walked out of his office as I followed.

"I'm going to go and tell Dr. Maxis so he knows his stuff is coming too." he informed me before leaving. I stayed inside the barracks as he left to go do so, I could hear the excited talking of the troops happy to have the supplies come in early. Perhaps we would get a few more luxuries than usual, if this good fortune went along with what we received in the supplies. I was hoping to get some authentic Peking duck from Earth like we had a few months back. I looked around carefully for a moment and seeing as no one was around I fist pumped with happiness.

I hope no one saw me do that.


	23. Garrison Christmas

_Richtofen_

"You guys see anything out there?" Rune asked generally.

"Nope."

"Nada."

"No."

"Nein."

There was nothing to see anywhere, the flats were all clear, nothing on the cliffs or around them. It was all quiet in the wasteland, give or take a few Swarmer nests, but in every other sense it was quiet.

"Well, guess we're heading back to Garrison earlier than expected." she said hopping down from her elevated position.

"Wait, what's that?" one of the militia called, pointing towards the skyline off in the distance.

"It looks like a transport ship... but we're not supposed to get our supplies until the end of the week." another commented.

"Hold your horses guys." Rune ordered looking through her binoculars. She put them down slowly with a smile on her face.

"Well I'll be damned, that's a transport ship alright. Boys, looks like we got our supplies early." she clarified. Everyone of them started celebrating, except me, I didn't think too much of it, of course there wouldn't be much of anything in those supplies for my benefit.

"What are we waiting for? There ain't nothing out here to worry about, let's get goin'!" one of them cheered. They all ran for their Duneracer and hopped in ready to ride back to Garrison, but they were soon halted.

"Hey, hey, hey! You were not given orders to go, I know you're all excited, but we have a patrol to run. The supplies'll be there when we get there." Rune put them in line. They hung their heads in disappointment, but there was a job to be done, and it must be done.

"We'll still get there early won't we?" the driver of the Duneracer asked.

"Yes, we'll still be in Garrison early. Given that we don't run into any hidden Dukni camps." she answered.

"Let's just hope we don't then."

"You guys head on to the next location, we'll follow."

"Right, then let's head out!"

They sped off flinging various rocks and causing a thick cloud of dust to rise in their wake.

"C'mon Richtofen, the quicker we get done the sooner we get home." she urged already strapping into the Duneracer. I followed suit and took off after the others, I wasn't paying attention to our route, but rather I was watching as the black speck of the transport ship became larger as it approached.

"So from what I heard from your colleagues they say you're pretty handy when it comes to making things." Rune addressed me.

"Ja, vhat of it?" I returned.

"I was thinking if you had the time you could help me out with fixing the other vehicles."

"Do you think Dempsey vould let me?"

"Yeah, we need all the help we can get to finally get those Duneracers back in order. They've been out of service ever since May."

It wasn't too much of a task, given that they weren't too badly damaged both inside and out. That and having to ask Dr. Maxis if I could take time off from genetic research to do so; it would be interesting to see how it would play out.

"Just how badly are zhose Duneracers damaged?" I asked.

"Well the older one needs a replacement engine and some of the rear armor can't be repaired or scrapped. The other has a problem with the transmission and other internal bugs that threaten performance. Overall, with just myself it would take a week to get them back up and going, but the sooner they're back in the better." she informed me.

"I'll have to see vhat Dr. Maxis says before I can make any promises."

"That's fine."

Up at the next survey location the other militiamen were already done with scouting around and had decided to take a short break. As we pulled up they immediately started for their vehicle again.

"Nothing here either?" Rune asked them.

"Nah, nothing."

"Are you sure?" she insisted.

"Yeah, we made sure, no distorted air, no odd noises, it's all clear."

"Alright, but if we figure out that there were Dukni around here it's your asses' on the line." she warned them before we took off in front of them.

This route was more than three quarters done and there was no activity to report, something that I didn't exactly think was a good thing.

"Do you think that the Dukni are ceasing activity to lull us into a sense of false security?" I asked Rune.

"It's very likely, that's why we don't stop patrolling just because there's a lack of activity. They always come back, sometimes with bigger numbers, sometimes with better equipment." she answered. I knew well how stubborn Dukni could be, especially those taken captive, but I could safely say that I handled only one Dukni captive in my lifetime. It was something I would never forget, coupled with the sheer determination for it to break free it was hard to interrogate such a creature not to mention it was a Go'ni'za, the largest of their kind.

Just as we were making the final stretch of the route in record time the transport ship hummed overhead at it's casual speed and making it's way to Garrison. Behind us we could hear the cheers of the other militiamen celebrating the good fortune that had been given to them.

"I hope we've got plenty of luxuries to go with that early delivery. I'm sure Takeo would be happy to find some Peking duck, he loves it." Rune remarked.

"But he's Manjurian right, I vould have thought him to be hoping for, I don't know something like teriyaki or vhatever." I commented.

"Nah, he's just got a thing for duck. Don't know why he just does." she explained.

We all were quick to get out of the Duneracers, we'd made it just as the transport ship had opened it's cargo doors. At the landing zone I could see Dempsey and Dr. Maxis standing near the ship awaiting the supplies. My observation was cut short with a quick, but firm hit on my left shoulder.

"C'mon Richtofen you're gonna miss Garrison Christmas." Rune urged running past me. I was in no hurry, most of it was for them anyway, the only things that I would worry about would be the scientific equipment that Dr. Maxis had ordered before we got here.

"Well, surprise, surprise! Aren't you glad to see us!" one of the ship's crew members addressed Dempsey.

"You guys got here early, why wouldn't we be glad!" Dempsey replied approaching him at a leisurely pace. Then, almost like a stroke of lightning the two had each other in a firm "bro-hug" as it was known in popular culture. As those two were having a grand time meeting each other I took a place near Dr. Maxis, who only glanced at me and said nothing or a while.

"You'll be happy to know that your medication did indeed make it." he informed me.

"Never fails does it." I replied with a slight sarcasm.

"Alrighty, now that that's done, just need your John Hancock right here and we'll get you folks sorted out." the crew member said handing Dempsey a clipboard.

"Hope you brought a few extras along with ya." Dempsey remarked.

"Sure did, thanks to the good weather we were able to stop by Alpha Centauri and pick up a few things that I think you're going to like." the crew member informed.

"Awesome."

He handed back the clipboard and the crew member signaled the men on the ship to bring out the numerous cargo crates.

"Come along Edward, let's make sure our equipment made it as well." Maxis urged me along. As more and more of the crates were unloaded and checked off for inventory they were being eyed by many of those who'd come out to see what had been given to them. Once the last crate was unloaded Dempsey and the friendly crew member parted ways and as the ship took off many of us turned away to avoid the debris and dirt being spat at us from the ship taking off. Once they had taken off and were back on their way to wherever they'd come from the crates were being unpacked and many murmurs of excitement could be heard.

"Edward!" I heard Maxis call for me from afar. I'd been scarce aware that he'd moved away from me to address the few crates set aside from the others.

"These are ours, and..." he began while reaching in one of his coat pockets pulling out a medicine bottle, "this is yours. I have to warn you though, it is a new dosage, same instructions though."

"New dosage?" I caught myself saying.

"I asked them to increase the strength of your medication, but you understand why I did."

"Ja, but how much of an increase?" I questioned.

"Only an extra one hundred milligrams." he told me.

One hundred milligrams more put my medication, now, at just fifty milligrams until it was illegal to use. I wasn't happy about his request, but I did indeed understand his position, and I wasn't going to complain about having to take a slightly stronger medication, even though it was going to make me even more ravenous than before.

"You better hope they can accompany a virtually bottomless stomach for a while." I joked.

"They just got a supply drop, I'm sure they can handle it for a week or so." Maxis returned taking an interest in the larger of the three crates that had been specified for Group 935 as indicated by the logo on each one.

"You can go ahead and join the others, I'll get Groph and Schuster to help me with these." he said.

I didn't waste time, I was actually feeling excited myself, I wasn't even really part of this community, it must have been the atmosphere. Various crates had already been opened, most of the opened ones were foodstuffs that were already being carted away to storage. I managed to find Dempsey who was helping to open another foodstuffs crate which contained a various assortment of fruits.

"Alright guys, get these babies into the storage room and don't bruise them." he ordered just before noticing me.

"It's just like Christmas for us." he explained.

"So I've heard." I replied.

"Rune already gave me the run down of the patrol. I have to say the Dukni have been really lacking recently."

"Ja, I'm a bit vorried zhat zhey aren't just preparing for something huge."

"That's my concern too, but hey enough of that. Why don't ya help open these things, if you see something ya like we'll put it on the order for next month." he ended before rushing to help with another crate. I wondered around the maze of boxes of varying sizes and shapes until I found whom I was really looking for.

"Hey Richtofen, give me a hand here!" Rune called out struggling to open a larger sized crate. I took one side and managed to make the crate give way only partially.

"I think ve're going to need more zhan two people for zhis one." I remarked ceasing my struggle.

"Yeah, I think you're right, I'll go get Nikolai I'm sure he could crack this baby open." she said before speeding off through the maze. This crate, no doubt, contained the parts for the Duneracers judging by the sheer size both in height and width. Before long I could hear the heavy thumps of the Russian accompanied by the swift and light footsteps of the lithe Sernian.

"Chyort, they could have sent them in several smaller ones couldn't they have." I heard him complain.

"Yeah, they could have, but c'mon it'll be time to eat soon." she urged rushing back over to the crate and taking a side. With the Russian's help the crate was pried open in no time and my suspicions had been correct in that this crate hosted the Duneracer parts along with some other vehicle parts.

"Thanks man." Rune gave him a slap on the back.

"No problem, now I'll get back to help out Dempsey if you need me for anything else."

"Alright, this is great they even got the spares in here." she chattered excitedly already taking things out. After I got a better look I could see that the other vehicle parts I spotted belonged to a different craft entirely.

"Zhose are Grav-racer parts." I commented.

"Yeah, didn't know you knew what they looked like." Rune replied making her way out of the crate.

"Vhy do you need zhose?" I asked.

She rubbed her neck nervously looking back at the garage.

"I... I used to race." she admitted.

"Really? Grav-racing isn't a very easy thing to do, especially if you don't have reflex enhancements."

"Yeah, that's what made me so "special", I guess you could say."

"How did you race?"

"Erm, well... I used to race for a hobby, but sometimes I raced semi-professionally."

"Ha, zhat's amazing for someone vithout enhancements."

"That's what people told me."

"Vhy'd you quit?"

She went quiet and rubbed her neck again looking around for some kind of distraction.

"Oh, never mind, forget I said anything. I didn't mean to bring up anything tragic." I apologized.

"No, it's alright. I've been debating on whether to race again this year or not." she explained.

That explained why she had the parts here, but I was more interested in seeing if she ever won anything.

"I don't suppose you keep your awards somewhere."

"They're in the garage. They... help remind me of some better days." she answered slightly melancholy.

"Let's just get zhese things out of hier, after all ve are eating soon." I pitched.

"Yeah, that's right." she remembered and her mood returned to it's original perk.

* * *

_Krolok_

"We need to get this fucker talkin'!" the disgusting voice of a human yelled from another room. I'd been taken prisoner yesterday and without pause I'd been beaten, shocked, burned, and even cut in the humans' futile attempt to get me to tell them information.

"We've tried everything we could try and he still won't say a word!" another lower pitched human shouted.

"ENOUGH!" the dominant one yelled silencing the other two. They would never gain anything from me, no matter how long or how hard they tried.

"The only one I know who's ever been able to wrangle information from a Dukni was part of my old squad once." the dominant one said. A human, able to force a Dukni into submission, surely it was some kind of joke.

"But I thought you said that we couldn't get him. He was exempt from this kind of stuff on pain of federal action..."

"I know what I said, but... but we have no other option. Unless you would rather kill the bastard and waste the opportunity I suggest we give it a shot and try to get a hold of him."

After a moment of silence all three of them came into the cell that I'd been holed up in for well over a day. The leader of them, a very dark skinned and bulky one, stepped forward and met my gaze with equal determination.

"I'll give you one last chance you Dukni piece of shit. Give us what we want and you'll be released to your kind." he growled. I laughed and grinned defiantly at him and his two companion's faces turned even more red with anger.

"I'd rather die." I spat in his empty language.

The leader backed away his eyes still viciously attached to me.

"Go call 'em up Davis." he ordered and the smaller of the three walked out of the room.

"You can try whatever you want you will never get me to talk." I assured them.

"Really? I'd like to see you stand up against my old friend. He's got a knack for information extraction." the leader grinned before leaving the room with the other companion.

He had to be joking, a human could never do such a thing, they certainly couldn't and there were three of them. What made this human they spoke of any different from them, I laughed to myself invoking them to shock me in futility to stop me.

"Go ahead! You think this hurts I've stung by your filthy hornets and their sting is worse than this." I laughed.


	24. VIP

_Rune_

"Hey watch were you're pointing that thing! It only melts through solid titanium." I warned.

"Give me a break, my finger isn't even on ze trigger." the doctor retorted showing that was case the indeed.

"Still, it's a hazard and the last thing I want is half my face melted off."

"Was auch immer. Maxis only gave me so much time so let's get vhat ve can done."

"Right."

Richtofen's help was definitely worth it, by the time he had to leave we'd managed to get halfway done with the first Duneracer. With a few scratches here and there that came with pulling apart the sharp, shattered metal pieces everything went relatively well. Nothing of note was exchanged, for the most part he worked quietly and left in the same manner. Dempsey had come by a few times to check on us, but he never stayed for more than a few minutes, the last time he'd went back to handle a call, apparently private for some reason or another. I was curious as to why it was a private matter, usually all his calls were rather public and non-secretive.

After I'd cleaned up and shut the garage door I went into the barracks to check on Tank, but to my displeasure Takeo had been placed to guard the door.

"Private call?" I asked.

"Hai." he replied simply.

"From who?"

"The military."

"Ah."

A private call from the military usually wasn't good news, in Garrison's past any kind of secretive call from them meant that all kinds of bad were about to come close, or pass by. Just as I was thinking about it Tank came out of his office and was actively looking for something, or someone. He perked up when he saw me, and I pieced together that I was the person he was searching for.

"Oh, there you are. Come here, there's something I have to tell you." he urged in a half-rushed, half-worried tone. I wasted no time in following him and took a seat quickly noticing that the call was still going.

"Alright she's here." Dempsey told the small clear pad on his desk.

"Is that so," the strangely familiar voice on the call spoke, "then I'll continue with the news."

"Maj. Spade?" I gasped. I hadn't see or heard from him in years, ever since my father died he'd been a bit isolated from us.

"It's General Spade now-a-days." he corrected me.

"Oh, sorry sir."

"That's quite all right, now to the news..."

"Right then."

"You were on the subject of the VIP you're transporting." Tank reminded Spade.

"That's right, now the man I'm bringing in is of great importance. I need you all to bring him to the base safe and sound."

"That won't be too hard, we know the trails better than anyone out here." I assured him.

"That's not what I'm worried about, it's the government I'm concerned with." he informed.

"Why, what's the government got with him?" Tank asked.

"The man I'm bringing in isn't supposed to leave the Solar System, let alone come into areas with Dukni activity on pain of federal punishment." Spade explained.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're sending us a guy who's going to be hunted down by the feds?! Are you out of your mind?" I protested.

"A little maybe, but it's crucial that I get him here. We need him to handle the Dukni we captured after taking out that artillery yesterday. He won't tell us anything and the man's the only one I know who can make him talk."

"What if the feds find us taking him to you?" Tank joined in.

"They won't, I've already taken measures to make sure he can't be traced here. He's got a GPS chip and from what I heard a few hours ago he's got the thing disabled for now. You'll be fine."

"They gotta find him sometime don't they?" I questioned.

"Yes, but by the time they'll get the GPS working again he'll be back in the Solar system and they'll believe firmly that it was just a bug caused by some kind of solar flare. Trust me, we've brought him here before, it works every time." he assured.

"So when's your man supposed to get here?" Dempsey asked.

"27:00 tonight, make sure you're ready when he gets there. I can't land him here for obvious concerns. When you get to the gates the password is "Cobra", got it."

"Got it." Dempsey assured.

"Good, see you two tonight." Spade ended and the clear screen became an opaque white.

"Well isn't that just dandy." I chided.

"Don't complain too much, you know he'll pay us for the trouble." Tank informed me.

"I know, I know, but really, on a Dukni who probably doesn't know jack shit about anything."

"He told me it was a Ki'la'zi Dukni."

"Ki'la'zi..." I let the title sink in for a moment, "they don't usually send their utter best on Agria unless it's a high risk mission."

"Exactly, and that's why Gen. Spade wants his man to get him to talk."

I leaned back in the chair and took in all the recent information.

"Must be one hell of an interrogator to get a Ki'la'zi to talk." I remarked.

"Apparently he's the best in the business, especially if the feds wanna keep tabs on him." Dempsey added.

"No doubt."

"So, we're gonna be busy tonight."

"That we are."

* * *

_Dempsey_

The day seemed to drag on forever, coupled with having evening patrol and having to talk to Nikolai about the scientists' outing. Thankfully nothing went awry during their time outside the wall, that and Nikolai kept his temper under control. He was doing better, but it was going to be a long time until I would forgive him for trying to sneak out a case of vodka from the supplies today. He was compliant with handing it over, but it didn't surprise me that he did what he did. I was still going to keep to Ian's rule of a two month prohibition, unless he proved it should last longer.

A few hours before the VIP showed up I was approached by Dr. Richtofen, I didn't know what he could possibly want from me.

"What do you need, doc?" I asked.

"I came to ask if I could take an evening shift." he was straight to his point.

"Oh, well... as a matter of fact there's an opening for evening wall duty, if you're willing to take that." I informed him.

"Zhat vould vork." he replied.

"I'm guessing that you don't have much to do."

He chuckled a little and made a stray look above the wall.

"I heard zhat you have someone you have to escort tonight. Just thought I could be of some help vhile you're gone." he answered.

"Wait, how do you know?" I asked, I hadn't told anyone and I know Rune wouldn't do so either.

"I have my sources, Sergeant. Don't vorry though, I von't tell anyone else. I know how news tends to spread in zhis little outpost of yours." he assured.

I was a little worried that he'd learned of the transport, but then again he was ex-military and I'd seen some of his tricks already. Of course I never minded a little more help on wall duty, especially when the Swarmers were particularly active.

"Fine then, you report on the wall at 26:00 alright." I told him.

"Understood." he replied shortly and headed back to the 935 building.

"That's one less thing to worry about." I muttered to myself.

For a while I wasn't aware that I was just standing in the middle of the street until I felt a sudden urge to go and meet someone I hadn't talked to in a while. I casually and silently made my way to the graveyard and wandered through the small pathways between the graves until I found the one I was looking for.

"Hey Ian, it's been a while hasn't it." I directed at the small wooden cross. I didn't really know what to say so I just kind of went with whatever popped into my head.

"So, we've got an old friend of yours here, Dr. Richtofen. I have to say, the guy gives me the creeps, but he's useful I'll give him that. I'd bet if you were still around you'd being having a hell of a reunion, from what I've gotten from him you two were rather close."

There wasn't really anything else I had to say, but I kept going, I guess it was nice to just say some things out loud.

"I think Rune might get back into racing, I know you'd be proud of that, maybe this will be the year she manages to win the Trinity Cup. I remember the last time she was so close, but then... well you know how the Eidolon Crew is, the bastards. I've been fine, other than having slight paranoia because of your friend I've been great. Nikolai got his drinking privileges revoked because he tried to go at Richtofen, but I think he's already told you about that hasn't he."

After a bit more rambling I decided that it was time to leave and get ready for the transport.

"Well, Ian I'd love to stay and tell ya more, but Rune and I have to take a guy to the military base. Maybe some other time." I ended taking a moment to stay a bit longer and then finally leaving to the barracks to get ready. When I got into the barracks it was already 25:15 and I saw that Rune was all ready to go.

"So you gave Richtofen evening wall duty." she commented as soon as she saw me.

"Yeah, we could use the help and he offered so I let him take it." I explained.

"Sounds legit, but I thought you'd like to know a little somethin' somethin'." she continued.

"Just what is this "somethin' somethin'?" I asked. She came up closer and whispered so no one else could hear.

"Not here, we'll head out to the garage, then we can talk." she explained. With directions like that I had a feeling it was some big and probably top secret information of some sort.

We headed out and without being followed or gaining any eyes on us we made it to the garage.

"Now what is it you wanted to tell me?" I questioned. She took a look behind her to make sure no one was following then turned her attention to me.

"The VIP we're taking to Spade..." she stopped and looked behind her again.

"What about him?"

"Dr. Richtofen knows him."

"Really now."

She nodded quickly and again looked behind her then shook her head in frustration before stomping off and turning on the light and then closing the door.

"His name is David Unterheil, code name Doppelganger. He's a big time special operations guy, we're talkin' on Dukni ships, assassinating Dukni elders and commanders, and he was even in a plot to kill Edredel." she listed.

"Edredel?! The Dukni High Commander?"

"Yeah."

"Where the hell did you manage to get this information, more hacking?" I interrogated.

"Of course, but..." she stopped suddenly.

"But what?"

"I kind of "borrowed" Richtofen's encryption drive to get to it." she admitted.

"You stole his encryption drive!" I half-yelled.

"I put it back when he wasn't looking, besides that pales in comparison to what I found on Richtofen himself." she uttered quickly. She had a crazy look in her eyes, like a little kid who knew a secret about one of their friends.

"Just what the hell did you tap into?" I dared to ask.

"Well it turns out that..." she was interrupted and we were both put on edge by the sound of knocking on the garage door.

"Dempsey, are you in zhere?" Dr. Richtofen called.

"Yeah, just a second I'll be out." I replied to him disguising my recent jumpiness.

"Guess I'll tell you later then." Rune ended gathering her nerves together. I opened the door and the doctor was waiting patiently outside for me.

"Reporting for duty, Sergeant." he said promptly.

"Indeed you are, you're on southern wall duty, near the gate." I informed him.

"Very vell. I'll get to it zhen."

He left without another word and took his place on the wall, it was a little unnerving to feel him watching from an elevated height. It was like being the prey of a hawk and knowing he was there, ready to strike down upon you without so much as a tremble of the wind to mark your death.

A reassuring pat on the back from Rune got me to steel my nerves again.

"C'mon Tank we've got another hour or so until he gets here." she reminded me.

"Right."

I looked back up at him as we went back through the gate, his attention was fixed on the landing zone. The bastard knew exactly who was coming, and why, I really had to wonder just what Rune managed to find that had made her so excited. Unfortunately it would be a while until we'd have to time alone to speak of it in private, we had other matters to attend to.

Just as General Spade had said, the ship arrived at 27:00 exactly and our man came out thoroughly covered in various apparel mostly black in coloration. We met him promptly, he was mostly dressed in a heavy trench coat and had the darkest sunglasses I'd ever seen, he even had his mouth covered with a black bandanna laced with red decorative patterns. Just by the look of him I could tell he was a man no one wanted to mess with, that and he'd probably killed plenty of men in his time to warrant him a plethora of fear even from those who didn't know him.

"Sir..." I tried to address him, but I was cut off rudely.

"Let's just get going." he cut in, his voice was a sinister mix of gravel undertone and thick bearing.

He didn't want to waste anytime and I didn't blame him for it; Rune and I escorted him to the Duneracer, but as I looked back at the walls of Garrison I saw Dr. Richtofen watching us intently. His attention was mostly affixed to the VIP and that look of dissent was unmistakable, apparently the way he knew this guy was not in a good way. We took off to the base quickly seeing as he wanted to get there as soon as possible. In all honesty, I could say that I would have rather had the doctor's company rather than this guy's.

***Oh dear. What kind of secrets have been unveiled, and when will they be revealed to you, the readers?! Well, I've gotta get the new chapter written before you find out.***


	25. The Day The Swarm Ran In Fear

_Maxis_

"Day Eleven, date, June 19th, 2095 Agrian Time. So far there has been only moderate progress within a few of the projects. Genetic research has yielded to us rather odd findings within a certain resident of this outpost, but until these findings can be truly proven I will not exaggerate further on the matter. Recent energy scans, in all manner of scanning, have picked up foreign signals from an undisclosed location somewhere on the planet. I cannot be for sure that this is the source that I've been searching for, but there is the chance that it is. Dr. Groph has been working on this matter almost non-stop since the first signs of the signals along with the assistance of Dr. Hartlin." I reported into the small recording device once more.

I was taking my time with choosing what to say and what to report, as all of my recordings went to the government and I was loathe to inform them on anything that would decimate our chances of staying in Garrison.

"Dr. Richtofen has been stable for more than a week now, that is a good sign that his medication is doing it's job, but for an extra measure I increased the dosage by another hundred milligrams. That leaves only fifty more until I can no longer allow him to use them, hopefully this is the last time I will have to increase the dosage. I have also, recently, had a better reception from some of the residents here, perhaps it is because of Dr. Richtofen taking a more proactive approach to "make peace" with the people here. Whatever the case I am glad that these people are at least warming up a little bit to us." I ended. Most of what I'd just said into the device was utter filler, other than the mention of the foreign signals we'd found a while back.

It was just starting to be day break when Richtofen returned to the building from being on the wall that surrounded the outpost. Usually he'd make a stop by my office whenever he came back in, but this time around he did not making me wonder why. I took it upon myself to go and talk to him, but as I came into his room (the door was open) I noticed he was in discomfort. He was clutching his right hand tightly, as though he'd been stabbed there, but I didn't see any blood to warrant that conclusion.

"Edward, are you all right?" I asked him. He looked at me briefly, his eyes signaled he was in a tremendous amount of pain.

"That damn pain is back again... I only managed to ignore it for as long as I was needed on the wall." he managed to explain through clenched teeth.

"I'll go get the painkillers."

"Make sure you bring the nullifying agent with you... I fear that pain isn't the only thing to worry about." he urged. I hurried to find the smaller injectors of medication and I always kept a nullifying agent in my office, in case of emergencies. He was still in pain when I got back, but it had progressed in such a short time.

I took his ailing hand in which the blood veins were easily visible and there was a slight charge while I was holding it. I injected the pain killer first, and then the nullifying agent which almost immediately caused his hand to return to a fairly normal state. After his pain had subsided I attempted to ask why this had happened.

"I don't understand why this would take place if you were just on wall duty. You didn't kill anything did you?" I asked.

"No, Dr. Maxis, I just... I saw someone and I may have accidentally set the nanobots off." he answered still holding his hand.

"Just who did you see, exactly?" I inquired. He looked at me again, this time there was a muffled anger inside his eyes.

"Doppelganger." he replied quietly.

"He's here?!"

"No, he was here, but only to get driven to the military base for some god-forsaken reason."

"But he isn't supposed to be outside the Sol system."

"They've brought him there to interrogate the Dukni they captured when they took out the artillery."

I was very tempted to call the FBI right then and there, but he stopped me before I could turn and leave.

"Dr. Maxis, please, it's not our place to call him out. We have too many secrets of our own to even think of doing that." he protested.

"So you would just let him stay here, you know as well as I do just what damage he can do..." he cut me off mid-sentence with a single hand gesture.

"I know, but if we call he could very well tell the federal government just what we're omitting from them in our research. We just have to bite our tongues and stay silent about the matter, he won't be staying for long anyway." he assured.

As much as I hated the idea of Doppelganger being on Agria, I had to agree with Richtofen, the man was crafty and he could turn on people in the blink of an eye. However, I still wouldn't forget that he was one of the reasons 935 had become so loathed on Mars. He and Richtofen would always be at each others throats, although he'd never tell me just why he hated the man so much.

"Fine, but if he so much as takes a step into this outpost..." I warned.

"He won't Dr. Maxis."

I left after that, I wasn't ready to have my blood pressure go up so early in the day, there was still much to be done in the way of research for today. I wasn't going to let one bad omen ruin the opportunity for discovery, but he had just put a dent in my plans for today. I returned to my office, doing my best to some how alleviate my temper by directing it to a stress ball that, ironically enough, was a gift from Edward. Just as I was about to leave to wake Groph, Edward had come in.

"Dr. Maxis, Sgt. Belinski would like a word with you." he informed me. The Russian, wanting to speak to me was highly unlikely, it was more so that he was a go between for someone else, perhaps Sgt. Dempsey.

"Alright, where is he?" I asked getting up from my chair and putting the stress ball back onto my desk.

"He's outside waiting for you." he answered. I nodded and made my way past him as he generously closed my door for me.

* * *

_Nikolai_

The sun was just peaking over the horizon when the old man came out to meet me. He looked like he'd just had an argument, which I didn't doubt he had, Dempsey did say he had quite a temper.

"Sgt. Belinski, you needed me?" he addressed.

"Da, Sgt. Dempsey wanted me to tell you that he would need to see you later tonight." I told him.

"Vhat for?" he asked.

"I'm not quite sure myself, but he said it was an important issue that needed to be addressed."

"Ah, vhat time should I see him? I'll be rather busy today."

"You can come later tonight, so long as you meet him sometime today." I answered.

"Very vell zhen, anything else?"

"No, that's all, you can... go back to whatever it is you do in there." I ended.

"Alright zhen, I'll make sure to see him. Goodbye, Sergeant."

We both walked away from each other, I was glad to get that done with, I didn't like any of the scientists. Especially if they had tempers that could boil over at any minute, and apparently he'd just gotten through with one not too long ago. As I went back inside the barracks I got to waking up a few of the militiamen in order to start the day. Rune and Tank were disposed at the moment, they hadn't gotten their rest yet on account of them having to make a run to the military base. I was soon joined by Takeo, however, and he immediately took the role of militia leader for the duration of Rune and Tank's absence.

This wasn't the first time Takeo and I had run the militia, in fact this was the third time this year alone. The last time we had to run it for nearly two weeks when they had to go and attend an invitational military reunion on Mars in Ian's place. Despite our, dislike for each other we got the job done, regardless of whether we agreed on certain matters or not. Takeo was relatively generous, allowing me to stay at the outpost while he ran morning patrol, thus letting me do the easier work. At least I thought it was easier when, woe and behold, I was approached by the two scientist I had reluctantly lead out on an expedition yesterday.

"Sgt. Belinski, sir." addressed the young man hesitantly.

"What is it?" I asked briefly.

"We were hoping, if it wasn't too much to ask, if you could escort us on another field run. We're in need of some more material for research..."

"I'm busy at the moment, I'll have to get another militiaman to take you." I informed him gruffly.

"Oh, so when should we be ready to leave?" he asked.

"Thirty minutes or so, I'm doing rounds right now."

"We'll be back in thirty minutes then." he said before hastily leaving with the female scientist not too far behind him. They were both scared of me, I didn't mind that, just one more reason for me not to get picked to take them anywhere. I kept my word though and once I was back at the barracks I woke up Cpl. Hunts to take the two on an outing.

"Where did they say there were headed?" he asked.

"They just need a few samples from dead Swarmers outside the wall." I explained.

"Do I have to kill them?"

"No, there were some killed this morning, to the south side, you can go there. Nothing big will happen, they just take what they need and leave."

He nodded and then left through the door where the two were waiting patiently for him. Now all I had to do was wait for the morning patrol to come back so Takeo could take over the inner part of Garrison and I could attend to wall duty without any distractions.

* * *

_Takeo_

"Captain!" one of the men called from behind me.

"Hai?" I responded.

"What do you make of these tracks here?" he asked, pointing to the depressions in the ground that lead around a cliff. I took a closer look at them and all I could really tell was that they belonged to a group of Swarmers, but by the depth of them they were unusually large ones.

"Perhaps these are the tracks of an older Swarmer hunting party." I gathered.

"Do you think they have a den somewhere around that cliff?"

"Possibry."

"Should we try and clear it out?" another man suggested.

"No, not until we know what we're dealing with, if this group happens to be an Alpha team then we're sure to suffer casualties if we are not properly prepared." I warned.

"I can understand that, so when we get back do want to gather up a clearing team then come back out here later?"

"We can do that." I answered. For now we had to get to the rest of the route and then report back at Garrison, that and Dukni were far more concerning than Swarmers.

At the halfway mark of the route we encountered a whole family of Swarmers, young and old running across the path. It was a sight that I'd never seen before, Swarmers were not beasts that traveled in such a desperate way, they always avoided any kind of man-made structures or paths. I was very concerned as to why this particular group was, and why they were also taking their young with them.

"What the hell...? Why do you think they're doing this?" the soldier in the passenger seat asked me.

"I do not know, but I have a very terrible feering that something immensery terrible is going to happen." I replied. Once they passed across the path we kept going until at another interval another group of Swarmers ran by in the same hurried fashion.

Something was definitely not right, instinctively I looked towards Garrison, but there were no smoke columns or any sign of distress from the outpost.

"What's going on?" the passenger soldier asked me again.

"Let us just get back to the outpost and quickry. This is urgent news." I urged speeding along the path back to Garrison, no longer making stops at any of the watch posts. I didn't stop until we were all accounted for back at the garage, some of the men on the wall were also surprised to see us back so early, but they opened the gates nonetheless.

I rushed to the barracks and found Nikolai in his room, casually reading some Russian magazine (no it wasn't a dirty one). He looked at me with an incredulous expression, he was obviously surprised to see that I was back so early.

"Takeo, here a little early aren't you?" he asked.

"We need to wake Dempsey." I urged desperately. His expression changed in response to my worried tone.

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes, something is very wrong. There are dozens of Swarmers running from Garrison to the north, I don't know why, but I have a very bad feering that it's something big." I explained.

"Chyort, that is bad. Come on." he said before pushing past me and rushing to Dempsey's room as I followed behind him. He knocked on the door with solid, heavy blows.

"Dempsey! Get up, we've got news!" he shouted. It took a while, but a very drowsy Tank opened the door slowly, but he was concerned nonetheless.

"What kind of news?" he asked sluggishly.

"It's the Swarmers, they are... migrating." I managed to pick out a word.

He rubbed his eyes and then raised an eyebrow.

"Migrating...? Swarmers don't migrate." he stated.

"That's why I have this terrible feering that this is something very bad."

Dempsey shook his head and now looked more awake than he did a few moments ago, he waved his hand to come into his room.

"Which direction were they running?" he asked.

"North."

He looked back at me, he was in disbelief that my answer was even remotely correct.

"They're running north?"

"Hai, and not just hunters either, entire famiries are moving, even the elderly ones." I explained.

"Jesus Christ..." he muttered before sitting back down on his bed.

"Dempsey, are you all right?" Nikolai asked him worriedly. He started shaking his head, and muttering curses under his breath.

"Dempsey?" Nikolai asked again. He looked at us with a grim face and stood up slowly.

"Call General Spade, and go wake up Rune." he ordered.

"What is going on Dempsey?" I questioned. Tank looked at both of us with concern, but he eventually answered my question.

"You guys weren't around when this happened last time, but I was only a kid when it happened like this."

"What happened?" Nikolai inquired.

"When the Dukni invaded Garrison."


	26. Give Them An Inch

***I wrote this chapter in a bit of a hurry, with my mom not feeling well and being absolutely ravenously hungry all day, I kind of had to.**

_Spade_

It was almost as terrifying an ordeal watching him torture the Ki'la'zi as it was for it's experience with it. The things that he managed to do with just those limited instruments alone, I felt bad that I'd actually put the Dukni through all of that, but I had to get him to talk some way or another. He did crack though, and gave us very useful, but altogether terrible information about what was to become of the area soon.

"An invasion?!" I started.

"Yes, sir. He says it's a force of about a hundred Dukni per civilized settlement in Serna." David reported rather un-enthused of his find.

"Are you sure he was giving you truthful information?" I asked.

"If he'd lied to me, he'd be dead already. Besides, once you break a Dukni they'll tell you everything they know because once they go back to their kind they get killed anyway." he explained, twirling a blood-stained knife in his hand.

"We'll need to inform command then. This is a major situation and we're going to need soldiers to defend the area." I concluded.

"Indeed you will, I'll let you get to it General Spade. I've got to get back to the Sol system before they notice I'm gone." he ended leaving with the knife still whizzing around in his darkly skilled hands.

I looked back into the cell and began to feel all kinds of terrible feelings, and for me to feel that way about an enemy... Let's just say it was very rare, and it was my fault for causing him so much misery. I had my doubts that it was even alive, but the constant beeping from the monitor in the observation room told me that he was still hanging on. The thing was battered, sliced, bruised, you name it and it was done to him. The wounds on his face were particularly gruesome, various Dukni shame symbols had been either branded or cut onto his face.

There was plenty of the creature's blood spattered on the ground as well as on the closer walls, some was even on the ceiling. The entire time I had watched David do his work I felt guiltier by the minute, the things that man could do to another living being weren't anything short of satanic. That's the way he was trained, the way he was formed to be in order to be a perfect killer and assassin. That was also the reason they had dismissed him, he was "too perfect" of a killer, no mission was too difficult and the fact that with each kill he'd become more and more sadistic with the next was also a strong decision maker. I just had to remember that the means justified the ends, and with the Dukni's information we could prevent the destruction of thousands of human lives.

"Is that... "thing" gone...?" I heard the raspy voice of the alien over the intercom. He sounded so defeated, and weak, I had to remind myself that he was an enemy and could still be very dangerous if given the chance.

"Yes." I answered.

"What will you do with me now? Slit my throat and toss my body into some forsaken pit, void of light."

"We'll send you back to your kind."

"No!" he protested weakly.

"Is that not what you want?" I questioned him.

"You can't send me back now, if I return to my people they won't only kill me, they will kill my entire family and shame my name for centuries to come." he explained pathetically.

"Then what would you have me do?"

"...I don't know... but you can't send me back, please. I beg of you, the invasion was all I knew about I've no more information to barter for my life, kill me if you must, but don't return me to them."

It was hard to believe that this was the same Dukni that had laughed in the face of nearly nine thousand volts of electricity and shrugged off knife wounds like they were nothing. Just looking at him, he wasn't the same prisoner we'd taken hostage the other day, he was a pathetic ghost of his former being.

"I'll think of something." I told him. He just slumped and let his head hang uselessly, he looked almost dead, but inside that was probably most likely the case. Not many Dukni could be broken, but after what I'd witnessed I could believe that anything could be forced into submission. I still couldn't wrap my head around how the damn thing was still breathing after all that had been done to him.

"General!" called one of the men.

"Yes?"

"We have Commander Hellock on the line." he informed me. I picked up the nearest transceiver immediately and I informed him of the situation.

"My god, an invasion? They wouldn't dare." the commander gasped in disbelief.

"I know sir, but I can't go against the information. It was from a Ki'la'zi, you know how stubborn they are about giving information."

"Right, I'll get with Commander Ingrid and the rest and start looking to see if this is real or not and if it is you'll be receiving all the troops we can spare."

"Yes, sir." I said before the call ended.

"What do we do now, General?" another man asked.

"We're to wait until Commander Hellock and his group can verify an invasion force heading to Agria. If it's a go, then we'll be getting all the troops they can send." I reported to them.

"What about the Dukni?" he continued. I looked back into the Dukni's cell and felt guilt rising again.

"We'll keep him, see if he can give us some details about the Dukni themselves." I pitched.

"All right then."

* * *

_Richtofen_

My rest was not pleasant in the least, coupled with the pain in my hand still lingering and my medication wearing off it was less than comfortable. I'd woken back up three times just before it was even noon, every time I was either sweating or my heartbeat was erratic. I hadn't gone back to sleep since twelve and decided that I probably wouldn't be getting anymore for the day, but with my hand still aching from this morning it was doubtful that I was going to participate in any kind of militia activities. To top it all off my head was aching as well, it was obvious that my new medication was going to take a while to get onto the morning-evening schedule.

"What else could go wrong?" I muttered angrily before leaving my room, not even bothering to change into something else.

"Edward?! What are you doing?" Maxis growled at me from another hallway. Obviously he was not pleased at my "form of dress".

"Getting something to drink so I can take my medication, it's wearing off again." I answered, not caring about his displeasure.

"At least put an overcoat or something on, this is highly unprofessional." he urged.

"I'm in a lot of pain Dr. Maxis, professionalism is the least of my concerns." I scoffed, leaving him to go and get my much needed drink.

Before I even got into the other hallway he tossed another nullifying agent, and the bottle of pain killers from earlier.

"Be quick about your business Edward, I don't want you out and about like that. Especially if someone comes in here..."

Speak of the devil, there was our man... or more correctly our woman.

"Maxis, next time you need an escort don't let Nikolai chose who goes because..." Rune stopped abruptly.

"...It's not vhat you think..." Maxis tried vainly to explain my lack of dress.

"No, no... it's fine, I've seen plenty of half-naked guys in my time, trust me, I'm the only woman in the militia." she countered. That didn't cover up the fact that I'd caught her staring at me, even while she was addressing Maxis who'd also tried to step into her field of vision from time to time. I would have been laughing hysterically, had I not felt like I was having swords shoved through my head and hand.

"Were any of them hurt?" Maxis asked about Simons and Hartlin.

"They're fine, physically, but they had a hell of scare when those Swarmers started dashing for the north." she explained.

Swarmers... migrating? That never happened unless there was a large threat to their habitat, but before I could think any further on the matter I felt a huge surge of pain in my head and I left to go and take the medication before anything else could be said. I took the pain killers first and then injected the agent into my bloodstream before taking my new medication. I felt a little bit better after a few minutes, when the pain killers started to kick in, but my head still throbbed a bit. Now with my head a little clearer I went back to the subject of the sudden Swarmer movement. Unless there was a large Terran ship landing in the highlands I couldn't think of anything else that would seem plausible until I came back into the lobby.

Rune had left, but Maxis was standing in some fashion of awe, that or in fear.

"Dr. Maxis...? What's the matter?" I asked.

"Edward... I'm keeping you off of militia duty for a while." he said with a quiver in his voice.

"Why, what is it? Did you tell her that I was in pain?"

"You're just staying off duty for a while, until everything passes." he insisted.

"Maxis, I'll be fit for duty tomorrow."

"You won't be going tomorrow, maybe not even the day after that."

He was heading back to his office now, his tone becoming more and more insistent with every sentence he spoke.

"Why not? Did I do something? I've been in the building most of the day, I don't understand."

"Edward!" he shouted, turning his wild eyes on me. I ceased everything for a moment, even breathing until he spoke again.

"I will not tell you again," he said softly, but angrily, "you will not be on militia duty for a while."

I let him go into his office unhindered, but instead of being in pain I was now livid for his unwillingness to inform me of what the reason was that I was being kept away from doing any militia work. There was one way I could fix that problem, and it awaited in my room along with all my other "tools of the trade".

I spent a few hours at the computer, running through the legal databases until I had finally tried my hand at going through the illegal ones. The reason was obviously military and I was into their databases within the blink of an eye and out without a trace, but not with a sound mind. Embedded into the recent additions from the military base just outside of Garrison there was a concern for a surge in Dukni activity. A surge in Dukni activity, however, would not make Maxis go so far as to ban my participation in the militia unless it were something immensely large, like...

"An invasion force..."

It all made sense, but an invasion force...? For such a meager effort put forth from the Dukni ever since 935 had been here, an invasion was far from reasonable on the Dukni side of things. They'd just be sending lambs to the slaughter, the Terran military on Agria was more than prepared to deal with the likes of any new Dukni invasion force. Knowing this I could understand Maxis' reaction, but I knew I could assure him that I could handle it this time. The only times that I'd ever had an "incident" was when I was extremely startled, or even angry.

In a combat situation, the nanobots couldn't have time to register my reactions before having to attend to a wound somewhere. I'd been fine back then, and with the years my tolerance and control over it had increased, despite of what he thought. I could fight this "invasion force" with incident and he knew it, but he was afraid to let me. The small chance that it would happen was now the reason that made him keep me here. I was no child, though, I could very well make my own decisions and I could certainly defy his, I'd done so before.

I wasn't about to let the Dukni step foot into this outpost without it being blown off by me.

* * *

_Dukni Chatter*_

_-"The forces are being assembled as we speak, Elder Matak."_

_ -"Good, I'll be waiting for word on their completion."_

_ -"Yes, Elder... if I may ask, why are you so confident about this invasion? You've obviously made no great damage on any kind of defense that the humans have on Agria."_

_ -"The force is expendable, it makes no difference if it is successful or not. We can just brew up another batch in a week." _

_ -"Even so, why go through with such an eccentric plan? What do you seek to accomplish with it?" _

_ -"There is someone whom I've been dying to see for a long time now, and now that he's there on Agria it'd be the perfect time to say hello again."_

_ -"All this for a little taste of revenge?"_

_ -"Not just revenge, vengeance as well."_

_ -"So you're speaking about the human's "Legend Platoon" aren't you." _

_ -"Of course, they killed my brother and even went so far as to put his head on a spike in the middle of that damned highland! He will know suffering, I will make him pay!"_

_ -"What of your recent loss, Paladin Krolok? What will you do without a decent soldier to lead the invasion." _

_ -"Decent?! Ha, he got captured by the humans! He's nothing to me, he never was."_

_ -"..."_

_ -"Well, anything else Justicar?"_

_ -"No, Elder."_

_ -"Then, goodbye."_

*Translated from Dukni to English (Translations may not be entirely accurate)

* * *

_Krolok_

It was darkness for a very long time, but the stinging pain was still strong in my darkness. When I awoke my wounds had been tended to, it had been done crudely, but still done nonetheless.

"You're awake." I heard the lead human to my left say.

"I am." I replied weakly.

"I've found a way for you to "earn your keep" more or less." he informed me.

"My keep?"

"Yes, you want to stay away from your kind, right?" he asked, the answer was obvious.

"Yes."

"Then, the only way I'll let you do that is if you get close to them."

"You're asking me to be a spy?"

"No, I'm not."

"Then what are you asking? Tell me human." I demanded.

"I have a name, and you would be wise to use it." he growled.

"Fine, what is your name?" I asked, the urge to spit at his face grew.

"You'll call me General Spade, like the rest of the rabble here." he answered.

"Very well, Ge'Ne'Ra'Le Spade." I struggled with the human title.

"Close enough." he muttered.

"Now, what is it you want me to do?"

"I was thinking of you helping us fight that invasion force you said was coming." he pitched. I laughed, but then stopped abruptly due to the pain that began to rise when I did so.

"I may be desperate, but not so much that I would slaughter my own kind in combat." I protested.

"Oh really, you know you're little group up there in orbit isn't as stealthy as they think they are."

"What of it? Doesn't seem like you've done anything about it."

Now he had the audacity to laugh, whatever it was for I didn't care because it angered me either way.

"We picked up some chatter not too long ago about your Elder's invasion force." he informed me.

"Matak is a fool, his forces won't get a hundred steps without collapsing. Without me, he cannot do anything, not like I would do anything for him anyway." I hissed.

"Well apparently he thinks the same about you."

"I hate him all the same..."

"Well, from what we got his force is "expendable" as he put it."

What remained of my blood from earlier began to boil without respite at the mention of an expendable force.

"We know that you can grow your own soldiers quickly, but at this kind of rate..." he made an audible whooshing sound, followed by his hand passing over his head, "that's ridiculous."

"So he sends the inferiors to fight..." I growled.

"Sounds like you don't like the idea of these guys invading."

"They are abominations to our race, better had they never been used, or even thought of!" I yelled.

"You really don't like those guys." he goaded.

I mustered the strength to pull myself up from the bed enough to sit up and stare at him directly.

"If Elder Matak is an idiot enough to use those "things" as all of his forces then let them die. Do not give them mercy, they are soulless, uncouth creations, unfit to even draw breath from the universe!" I shouted. General Spade was unfazed at my volume, he only smiled smugly and stood from a stool he was using.

"Perhaps, now that you know that those "abominations" are fighting for the Elder you hate you'll consider my offer." he chided.

"Consider?!" I scoffed, "Give me a weapon worthy of my hand, and I'll kill them all for free."


	27. And They Issue A Challenge

***This is a long chapter, there's so much stuff that goes on!**

_Rune_

Years ago it had all began with a hail of Dukni beacons that would mark where the pods would land. There were hundreds of pods, like fleas on the fur of a dog, that would rain down and spew forth the hated enemy. There were no preparation stages, no bases set up, no communications made, the only goal on an Dukni invasion force's agenda was to invade, destroy, and enslave everyone they could. The same could be said for the situation now, many years after I had witnessed my first invasion they still did things the same way. It was late in the night, two days after the news was given to us by General Spade that it was coming, when we spotted the beacons floating down to their designated points.

They would dot the land for miles, stretching all across Serna and not just the highlands. Even the precious Green Zone was going to be targeted far to the west, no matter where they would land the concerns were all the same. Defend Serna at all costs, a single foothold for the Dukni could prove fatal for the rest of Agria. We were not to fight this crisis alone, however, as the Terran military had moved in thousands of troops to defend Serna and all it's holdings. I found it ironic that so many men had been sent to destroy an invasion force that would be highly inexperienced, but then again it never hurt to be over prepared, in case there was something up their sleeves.

In Garrison the procedures were simple and easy to follow, all civilians had been taken to the shelter and the militia was now on full-time duty in all functions. With the military also taking residence here we were well defended, we had received two companies to add to our total defense, as well as some much needed weapons, and some decent surplus armor. It was still very early in the morning when the dark sky yielded vague silhouettes of the pods that were dropping down from orbit. According to the two engineers in our current forces they counted a total of eight pods that had landed within three miles of the outpost. These would be the pods that would be designated to attack Garrison, that's the way it had been before.

As the sun began to fearfully creep over the horizon the first call-in of enemy contact was relayed to myself and Dempsey. A group of five Dukni had been successfully eliminated, no severe casualties, only minor wounds were sustained. The news boded well with the information that the invasion force was indeed inexperienced. Over the next hour three more calls had come in with the same overall result, few casualties and all hostiles eliminated, but as time dragged on the ratio changed. More wounds were being sustained and the number of Dukni was increasing, it was as expected and we were prepared for the worst.

It was 09:14 when we had our first non-returned check in, a team had been killed for sure, the Dukni hardly left fighting survivors, this news also meant that the next wave of Dukni was fast approaching. Despite the inexperience of most of them, strength in numbers could still overwhelm Garrison, especially since we were, in a military sense, short in numbers. For another hour there were no call-ins, it was if combat had stopped completely, a sign that the next wave was coming and with it the heavier troops. This would also be the wave that would reach our line of sight in Garrison, we made checks with all the snipers, Takeo included, and also retracted the outer perimeter forces back closer to the outpost. They would be close enough to be within sniper support, but far enough to keep the fight away in order for mortar strikes to be effective.

The next rain of pods came at 11:32, a total of twelve landed and with those pods came the heavy Go'ni'za troops. Over the radio chatter there were several pleasing call-ins of confirmed kills, but not without a fair share of casualties as well. It seemed that each group of Dukni, numbered in five to six of them, contained at least one heavy soldier. Even though they were easy enough for the snipers to handle quickly they had still managed to cause damage despite their short life-span. An hour of fighting the new wave and the medic's were already towing in several wounded men, many of which had wounds that went all the way through their bodies. You knew if you got shot by a Dukni rifle there wouldn't be anything left where they shot you.

Agrian noon came and with it the order to pull further in towards the outpost, this wasn't going well, we'd only expected to fight at least two waves, but an unexpected third had appeared and caught us off guard. In the silence between wave two and wave three Dempsey had received a call from Gen. Spade at the base informing us that the invasion attempt there had been dealt with, but we were not as fortunate. Thankfully, Spade was willing to send a detachment to help us, but he'd warned us about an "uncommon soldier" among the detachment he was sending. Personally, I could care less who was in it, as long as help arrived and we could terminate the invasion force in the area. Twenty minutes after Spade's call came in the unprecedented third wave crashed down, these pods, however, landed closer to the outpost than expected.

I was beginning to worry that this invasion was directed at this outpost in particular, and with the increasing difficulty and numbers of Dukni approaching the suspicion was solidifying. Snipers were called inside in the walls and now took positions upon it, firing round after round into the bigger targets. Mortar teams still fired at the back of enemy lines, still able to cause damage to them. They'd come close enough for us on the wall to start shooting them at a distance, and the same could be said for them as well. Terran bullets screamed downwards at the alien foe, as Dukni beams hissed upwards towards us, some were even knocked off the wall due to a well placed shot from a Dukni soldier.

"Medic!" a Terran soldier shouted not too far away from me. I caught a glimpse of the soldier whose arm had just been completely taken off, he was clenching the bloody nub that remained to try and stop the bleeding. My attention quickly turned back to the battle, I'd switched from my sniper rifle to my ARX-780, now on it's fully automatic function. I'd lost count of how many Dukni I'd killed after thirteen and just didn't care anymore how many I managed to slay, I just cared about stopping them before they reached the wall. Before I could react a sizzling purple beam managed to hit me, causing me to falter backwards. My armor had successfully stopped the energy from coming through, a lucky coincidence as right next to me another Terran soldier had a shot hit him and his armor had taken the hit as well.

"Go'ni'za charger, north side!" Dempsey yelled. A huge Go'ni'za, larger than the norm for it's type, was covered in straps of grenades and explosives which were all primed to go off.

"Takeo!" I shouted. The ever-vigilant samurai spun around and trained his rifle on the incredibly large target and shot a 50 caliber round into the monster's skull. The charger did not stop, it only tumbled slightly and continued on it's suicide run for the gate. Takeo unleashed another shot into the creature's skull, this time making it stop for a moment, but it regained it's footing and still charged.

Dempsey and I had both started loosing rounds into it, hoping that it would fall before it could reach the gate. Bullets tore through the explosive covered monstrosity, but it still kept going, each moment becoming more and more unable to continue until the grenades strapped to him finally went off. Shrapnel and giblets flew in every direction, many took cover to avoid the metal pieces that spewed forth. When I came back up only a blackened crater remained where the Go'ni'za charger once stood, I breathed a sigh of relief only for a moment as I remember there were still other Dukni to worry about. However, the charger crisis was far from over as from over yonder two could be seen making their beeline towards the gate.

"Two more chargers incoming!" I called out. Takeo was already on it, but like the other one they were resilient as well, but with two I wasn't sure we could manage to take out both before they reached the gate. That was until a huge chunk of one of the chargers came clean off of it's side and it toppled uselessly onto the ground that was covered in it's blood. To the northeast, Spade's detachment, complete with helicopter support, came barreling over the hill with armored vehicles and launcher soldiers who shot into groups of Dukni turning them into red mist. There in the first armored vehicle was Spade himself, standing in the back armed with his favorite weapon which he branded "The Reaper's Cousin".

Spade's vehicle skidded to a halt and he was within a line of sight with a large line of Dukni.

"Take this you alien bastards!" he shouted. His beloved death machine spun up and unleashed an endless maw of bullets that tore through Dukni armor with ease.

"It's about time you got here! We were worried you wouldn't make it!" Dempsey cried out to him.

"What and miss out on this?! I'd have to be crazy not to join in on this!" Spade replied howling like a wolf as the death machine continued to tear the Dukni forces a new one.

Back on the south side of the wall the other half of the detachment had arrived to take care of the forces on that side. It seemed as though we were going to successfully end the attempt, but a bone-chilling screech issued from afar. It was so loud that even Gen. Spade stopped his fire in response to it, because he knew like the rest of us just what creature it came from. I rushed over the western wall and just as I got there I saw the beastly hand grip the side of the cliff. The great monstrosity pulled itself onto the plateau, it easily met the level of the wall as it stood on it's raptor-like legs.

* * *

_Dempsey_

"Tyrant!" Rune cried from the western wall. A Tyrant was the last thing I wanted to fight and now it was there at the western wall. It screeched again, this time even louder than before making the smaller things on my being shake in it's sheer volume. I could see from the northern wall, the thing was so huge, the gnarled spikes protruding from it's hunched back, the shark-like maw of jagged teeth and it's incredibly large hands that ended in horrifying claws. I'd never seen one of the things in person before, and it made my heart stop in fear.

The creature didn't have any eyes, but it turned it's head in the direction of any sound it heard, and the sounds of simultaneous gunfire made it pissed. It screeched again before charging towards the southern half of Spade's detachment, bullets ricocheted off of it's chitinous skin with ease as it charged at them. There was no way we could take this thing on, the only way we could kill the Tyrant was if we could managed to blast through it's armored skin, but even then that was an almost impossible task without proper equipment. Cooked grenades that exploded near and even on the beast's body didn't even faze it, they only left a scorch mark on it's skin.

"General Spade!" I called out. He was already on it, his armored vehicle speeding to meet the Tyrant that was currently wiping out the southern detachment. I hurried off of the wall and sped to the south end of the outpost, I knew that shooting it wouldn't do anything to it for now, but I had to do something.

"Come on you sick son of a bitch!" I shouted aiming my weapon and firing at it's head which only managed to piss it off. A large hand started to swipe across the ground in my direction as well as at some of the other soldiers.

We all managed to move before it could hit anyone, but then it's crooked tail came behind it and smacked away some of the troops behind it. We were only pissing this thing off, but there was nothing else we could do, we didn't have anything powerful enough to get through it's skin armor. I went back to the north end of the outpost to try and get Takeo to help with it, but my task was cut short as soon as I heard the furious cries of Dr. Maxis from the 935 building.

"Edward! Holen Sie sich zuruck jetzt hier!" Maxis screamed in his native German. Out of the building came Dr. Richtofen, already armored and carrying his rifle, and coming after him was his furious superior.

"Sie werden nicht gehen raus! Lassen Sie mich nicht müssen Devlin anrufen und euch zurück auf die Erde genommen!" Maxis yelled at him. His face was boiling red, like he was ready to explode at any minute.

"Ich konnte weniger über die Rückkehr zur Erde, Dr. Maxis! Ich werde nicht zulassen, dass Monster zerstören diesen Ort!" Richtofen yelled back. He turned away from him and started running in the direction I had just come from.

Maxis noticed me and started pointing at Richtofen.

"Stop him!" he demanded. I pretended not to hear him and I went about trying to find Takeo again. I wouldn't stop Dr. Richtofen from helping us take on that Tyrant, we needed everything we could get. After I had found Takeo and brought him back to the southern wall I could see Dr. Richtofen, alone outside the wall within ten feet of the Tyrant, fearlessly firing at the beast and avoiding it's lumbering strikes.

The twelve foot monster did everything in it's power to try and swat Richtofen away, but it could even touch him. I could only watch in awe as the ex-soldier singlehandedly kept the creature occupied, allowing Spade and the rest of his detachment to scrounge up their rocket launchers.

"Ready!" Spade's deep voice ordered from behind the Tyrant, "Aim...Fire!"

Dozens of rockets blasted at the creatures back and a satisfying cracking was heard followed by pieces of the Tyrant's back skin-armor falling to the ground. The monster screeched horribly and swatted it's tail vigorously behind it hoping to hit it's rocket assailants, but Spade had wisely moved back the vehicle and his troops beforehand.

Richtofen was still able to keep the Tyrant's attention to it's front, and after turning the "awesome, kick-ass look" switch on his rifle on, a blast of electricity really made the thing mad. This allowed Spade's men to fire another round of rockets making more of it's armor crack off and finally making a weak point large enough for bullets to penetrate easily. Now we could take down this thing, and Takeo and I took off from ceremony and starting shooting at the raw weakness on the Tyrant's back.

"Take that you damned monster!" I could hear Nikolai shouting over the sound of his LMG.

After two minutes of nonstop fire on the weak point the beast started to collapse, but it still kept lashing it's tail in every direction and screeching in agony. Nearly five minutes of continuous fire had gone by and the Tyrant finally fell silent and became motionless. Even from the western wall I could hear Nikolai's distinct victory cry and the cheers of Spade's men as well as our own. The celebration, however, was cut short when a single hissing, green beam shot across the battlefield from the southwest. I turned immediately in that direction and saw that the lone soldier who'd held the Tyrant's attention was now kneeling on the ground grasping his side.

"Dr. Richtofen!" I shouted. Takeo turned as well and spotted the half-dead Dukni who'd taken the shot at him and let loose a 50 caliber round into the alien's skull. Just as I was about to run after him a much more quicker and smaller figure darted out into the field and reached him. It was Rune no doubt and she was fast to apply any help she could.

"Medic!" She cried, and a medic from Spade's detachment sped towards her and started tending to the doctor's wound. I ran out to them to see just how bad the injury was, but I saw the medic stop suddenly, like he'd done something horribly wrong.

I got close enough to see that Richtofen had stopped him and was now attempting to stand again.

"Are you crazy, you've got a hole blown clean through your side..." the medic's sentence went quiet as he watched the ex-soldier stand back up, albeit slowly. That wasn't the only thing that had amazed him, the hole that he was so desperately worried about was gone, patched up like nothing had happened.

"Jesus Christ." I gasped. I'd read in the files that he had been given an above average amount of nanobots, but this... this was just insane.

"It's going to take a lot more zhan a hole in my side to stop me from fighting." he chuckled, picking up his rifle and shooing the medic away.

"That's... that's not even... possible. Is it?" Rune stuttered. He was about to speak until the sound of crashing pods got everyone's attention again.

"A fourth wave?!" I heard Spade say from his vehicle.

"Looks like ve've still got company." Richtofen smiled.

The Dukni were on the plateau quicker than expected and that left Rune, Richtofen, and I out in the open for moment. We retreated back to the walls, where I went back up to shot from on top of it while Rune and Richtofen managed to fire on the ground. Beside me was now Nikolai firing his LMG from the hip and Takeo was still picking off the bigger Dukni with expert skill. Rockets from Spade's men helped take out large groups of them and as their numbers trickled down only the strongest of the Dukni were left to fight, and even they were dealt with handily. After the last burst of fire rang out there was utter silence, at least for a while there was.

"Du'na! Ko'lu'mi ge'weh na'ka'ni?!" the rough call of a single Dukni called from afar. It didn't sound like an order of any kind of attack, rather, it sounded like a challenge.

"Du'na!" it kept calling. I didn't know what the word meant, but from how he was saying it I could guess it wasn't a very good thing to be calling someone. The voice kept getting closer and close until finally the lone Dukni came over the road.

I was expecting Spade's men to open fire, but they did not, and when I looked at them that's when I saw what the General had told me about. On the ground on the General's right side was a Dukni in Terran armor... a Dukni in Terran armor! The thing was talking to Spade, but quietly to the point I could only see it's mouth moving. I saw Spade reach up to his ear and then I heard his voice on the radio to my side.

"Don't engage this one, he's no real threat to us." Spade ordered. I was enraged, I wasn't about to take advice from a Dukni, even if he was fighting on our side for the time being.

I raised my rifle up to fire, but Takeo's hand brought it down fiercely and he stared at me in a cross manner.

"He wishes to challenge someone, it would be dishonorable to kill him now." he warned, keeping his hand on my rifle. Reluctantly, I ceased the urge to shot him, but now I couldn't believe Takeo would let this thing go on ranting about a challenge. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Spade's Dukni approach slowly to the one who was still calling out "Du'na". Now that I had my attention on them I could see that the challenging Dukni was not someone of non-importance.

I recognized that it's armor was very high class, and even the air around it shimmered meaning there was a shield over it as well. I could also tell it was a fairly aged one too, usually they would be clean "shaven" (if you could call it that, they didn't really grow hair, just growths that acted the part), but this one had multiple growths to emulate a human beard. When it saw the other Dukni approaching it stopped it's call and addressed it, but this was in English and made so that we could hear it.

"Well, Paladin Krolok, I thought you to be dead, but it seems that is not the case. Pity, I was looking forward to being sent back your corpse." it spat.

_A Paladin? So it's not one of those gender-less clones._

The Dukni that was apparently Krolok spoke in an equally hateful tone.

"Sorry to disappoint you Elder Matak." he mocked sarcastically.

_And the other is an Elder, what the hell is he thinking? Being on planet when the rest of his forces have failed._

"Oh, you've done more than disappoint _me_ Krolok. You've betrayed your entire race! Now, you have the audacity to join them against your own kind!" the Elder shouted.

"Those soldiers were _not_ my kind! They were souless automatons, not even fit to take up space in this world." Krolok retorted. There was a quick silence, but the Elder spoke again soon after.

"Where is the Du'na, Krolok?" he asked.

"Du'na? What do you mean, the Du'na isn't even on this planet he's in the Solar system." Krolok explained.

"No, he's not! My Tyrant is dead because of him, he's the only human I know who could kill a Tyrant!" the Elder insisted.

"He's not here!"

"Then where is Lt. Albana?! Where is he?!"

He was asking for Ian, but how did he know who he was?

"Lt. Albana is dead, Elder Matak, he's been dead for years." Krolok informed him.

"Dead? No...No I was supposed to kill that... that ki'vo'lo'sh!" the Elder screamed furiously.

"Then I suppose you don't get your revenge after all Matak. You lead all of your forces into this place for nothing."

"No..." he denied, looking at the walls, scanning them slowly.

"I know you can understand me Du'na! Fight me! De'ba na'ri'ni!" the Elder started again.

"He is not here! For the last time, Elder Matak he is not..." Krolok was cut off by another call in Dukni, but this was no Dukni calling at the Elder, it was distinctly human.

"Ve'ta'ni Matak!" the voice called from the ground below me. The Elder turned his head sharply at the voice, which was in my direction.

Stepping out into my vision was the doctor, his rifle gripped tightly in his hands and his attention to the Dukni Elder.

"Du'na, ahahahaha! After all of these years! You've decided to come to Agria!" Matak cheered sinister-ly.

"I have und vhat of it?" Richtofen questioned the Dukni who was now steadily making his way towards him.

"You've finally come to die." he laughed, pulling out a long, blue, pulsing energy blade.

***For all the little bits in German (they go in order of appearance):**

**"Edward! Get back here now!"**

**"You will not go out! Do not make me have to call Devlin and have you taken back to Earth!"**

**"I could care less about the return to Earth, Dr. Maxis! I will not let that monster destroy this place!"**


	28. Rise From Your Grave

***It's the double update special! I got so into writing this since I finally got to the intense scenes that I wrote two chapters in one setting! So here's the next chapter, enjoyz!**

_Richtofen_

"Come now Du'na, come and fight your last battle!" Matak urged, twirling the surging blue blade with eagerness. He was an old Dukni, but age was quite deceptive in their case, he would put up a formidable fight, but a challenge was still a challenge.

"Very well, Elder Matak," I began,"but it will not be me, who dies this day."

"Rid yourself of your rifle, this will be a true battle." he insisted. I glanced at the Dukni, Krolok and ushered my rifle to him which he took without a single word and quickly took to back to Gen. Spade's detachment.

"Yes, now Du'na we shall fight. Prepare yourself!" he demanded holding his blade out. From my belt I pulled out my knife and wielded it steadily, slowly we touched blades, and for a moment all was quiet. The silence was broken as like vipers, we pulled away from each other, weapons drawn and ready to kill. There was utter madness in his reptilian eyes, revenge was keen in them as he stared down at me. I was not afraid of him, I'd taken on Go'ni'za that had been twice my height, but I was cautious, he would know many tricks that could send me to an untimely death.

He made he first strike, slicing only air as I quickly back-stepped to avoid him and another slice followed which I also dodged in haste. Now he held his blade to the ground, but his eyes warned that he would be ready to strike at a moment's notice. I would make no attempt to attack him, I only thought of counterattacks because I knew they would be my salvation. He slashed upwards only to miss once more, but he never let out a cry of anger or rage, it was considered ill-mannered to do so in Dukni traditions.

"You dodge so well now, Du'na." he mocked turning his blade playfully back and forth before trying to strike me again with a barrage of slashes.

The last strike met my knife and he pulled back expertly putting his blade to the ground once again.

"Was it because of that scar I gave you... all those years ago." he hissed. He couldn't be the Dukni who'd scarred me, I was sure I had killed him.

"If you were the one who gave me that scar you would have died on that ship." I explained.

"Or so you would think, Du'na." he said before trying to jab my side to which I plunged my knife down on the blade and forced him to pull back once more.

"It takes more than a simple gutting to kill a Ki'la'zi like myself." he went on.

"Please elaborate on how I would kill you otherwise." I chided sarcastically. The blade came close to my arm, but just barely passed by allowing me to manage a small cut on his forearm.

"Ho'ss!" he growled, retracting his arm, but quickly bringing it up again to strike at me once again. It was a dangerous dance we did, one wrong move and we could both effectively end each other's lives in an instant.

"How does it feel to lose him, Du'na?" he hissed, trying to jab my side again then pulling back. Another slash, this one high, made me have to duck and I got the opportunity to get another slice this time I directed it to his blade hand. I cut him under his wrist and he howled in pain before letting loose another barrage of attacks.

"How does it feel to lose your savior?" he continued letting a strong slice go by at the end. Instinctively I began to go for the vulnerability in his shoulder armor, but too late I realized I should not have. A searing hot pain coursed through my body as the energy blade made contact with my knife arm.

I pulled back immediately, but I was then pelted by a series of slashes and jabs as he took advantage of my current situation. I was still holding on firmly to my knife, it was my only defense and as the last of his attacks came down upon me I held my knife to block it and then pushed him away from me making him falter backwards. I couldn't make use of the opportunity because of my arm being in pain, I took a gamble and switched to my left hand. When the Elder regained his footing he slashed at me with a powerful swing which I ducked under and this time managed to get through to his left shoulder. I plunged as deep as I could to ensure that he was in the most pain and then pulled the knife back out and replanted my footing.

His eyes were wild with hatred and even more mad than before, he was going to finish this at any cost.

"Tell me Du'na, how will you feel when everyone else dies because of what you've done?! You can't run from your past, Edward! He's still there I know it!" Matak shouted before making a backwards slice and then charging with his aims set on a coup de grace. The attack was simple enough to dodge, but in a split second I saw his eyes flash up at me and before I could register it his leathery three fingered hand was around my throat choking the life out of me. I was lifted off the ground and above to where the Elder could look up at me with those insane eyes of his.

"Come out Richtofen! Come out and fight me, you're the one I want to fight!" he yelled, his grip getting tighter. I stabbed his hand with the knife repeatedly, but he would not cease he only tightened his grip despite all the blood spilling from the various stab wounds. My vision was becoming black around the edges, the sounds around me were becoming muffled and my lungs ached terribly. With the last of my fading strength I plunged my knife deep into his wrist, making it through the bone and out the other end.

This effectively made him drop me and it also sent him screaming in pain trying desperately to pull the knife out of his wrist. I gasped for the life giving air and felt my senses return as I made it to my feet again. Matak was grabbing at the handle and pulling with all his strength, now he was an open target having dropped his blade on the ground. I quickly picked up his blade which required me to use both of my hands to fully grasp the handle. Just as he had pulled out the knife successfully I stabbed the blade straight into his midsection and kept going until it would go no further. For a while he shouted and cried in agony, but then he began laughing.

He laughed like a madman, and looking into my eyes he furthered the blade into himself, coming closer and closer to me until we could both see each other's irises in detail.

"They will all die... because of you..." he spat. Blood seeped from his mouth and spattered on the ground, I thought he was done for sure until with his last effort he plunged my knife into my back. The strength of which he used was truly final as the sting of the knife turned into a gut-wrenching agony as I ripped it out of my back and used it to end his life. I sent the knife straight through his skull and into his brain, rendering him truly dead this time.

I let his corpse collapse onto the ground as I fell to my knees in pain, but before I could do anything else I felt blood flood into my mouth. I couldn't breathe, my heart was on fire every time it beat, until I could feel it weakening, fading. He'd managed to force the knife deep enough to pierce my heart and now it was pumping away the very essence of my life. I was dying, I knew I was dying, the cold was setting in, my surroundings were becoming foggy and the edges of my vision were being covered in blackness. I toppled over onto my side, as I heard the muffled, indistinguishable chatter of the many who were coming to my aid, but it was too late for them to save me now.

It was all up to him now, he who clutched onto life so selfishly. It was only by his actions that I could be saved, but in all honesty I would have preferred to have died that time.

* * *

_Takeo_

I had seen the way the Dukni had driven that blade into the doctor's body, I knew well that there was no saving him. He laid on the ground before us, the blood pooling on the ground underneath him and spilling forth from his mouth until finally it stopped flowing. All movement from him ceased and slowly his eyes became glazed over with the shroud of death's embrace. He had fought like a warrior, and he had killed his challenger, but had lost his life in the process. Even if I did not like him I still commended his death, he had gone out in the way of a true warrior.

General Spade had come over to offer any assistance he could, but it was too late, Richtofen was dead. He looked upon him with the face of someone mourning a friend, he removed his special forces cap and placed it over his chest.

"May you rest in peace, comrade." he spoke softly. Thinking back to what I knew then and now, I knew that Spade had known Dr. Richtofen through their time in Legend platoon, but if Spade had this kind of companionship with him it must have been some time. Dempsey had already started to look around for others to help him carry the body.

When he came back he sighed heavily, he did feel remorseful for his death, but not in the way that Maxis would probably feel.

"So... who's going to tell Dr. Maxis about this?" he asked. No one said anything, but I think it was time that I show a little respect for the man.

"I wirr go and terr him about this." I volunteered. Dempsey only nodded and left me to go and break the news to Maxis who would most likely be bereaved.

Now that he was dead, I felt guilty for having tried to study him as an enemy, but that was just in my nature. Even with Dempsey I studied him, just in case I would ever have to fight him, and with anyone else that was also the case. As I got into the 935 building Dr. Maxis was holed up in his office, squeezing a stress ball slowly.

"Vhat is it?" he asked irritably.

"It's Dr. Richtofen, sir." I started.

"Did something happen?" he looked up at me, he was worried for sure, but what I had to tell him would probably cause him much pain.

I paused, came into his office and closed the door quietly behind myself.

"Dr. Richtofen... is dead." I reported. He was quiet I had expected, but he did not look at all as shocked as I thought he would.

"Are you sure he's dead?" he insisted.

"Hai."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

He was probably in denial, not wanting to accept the fact that Richtofen was indeed dead, I had seen his cold corpse with my own eyes. It was lying outside the wall in a puddle of blood, having defeated a Dukni Elder, but sacrificing his own life to do so.

"Yes, he is dead." I repeated. He got out of his chair and gently pushed me out of the way and left the office, I followed him out of the building as I noticed that the other scientists had also begun to file out as well.

"Dr. Maxis...?" I tried to consul him, but he took off running out of the southern gate seeing the crowd that surrounded the body of his dead colleague. I started rushing to reach him and rejoin the group that was getting ready to take his body in.

"Nein, vait!" Maxis shouted kneeling at the corpse of the doctor.

"Dr. Maxis, please. He's gone, but... he saved us by killing the Elder and halting the invasion." Dempsey tried to consul him.

"Nein, he's not dead you idiots!" he denied.

"Please Maxis, we'll make sure to cover the funeral costs and everything." Rune joined in.

"You don't understand! He's not dead yet!" he continued. It was hard to watch him struggle with the reality that his close colleague had died, but he was so adamant on it, he wrenched his arms out of anyone's grasp and insisted on watching the body.

"Dr. Maxis we need to get his body embalmed..." Dempsey tried to speak.

"Damn it you fool! Listen to me, he isn't dead!"

"Look at him you German fool! He is dead, look at all the blood, his skin is pale and his eyes are covered with death! You think he is alive, you are honestly insane!" Nikolai shouted.

"I'm not insane, you have to believe me he's not dead... vell. He is dead, but he von't be dead for long you have to give him time! I beg of you, please!" Maxis insisted, getting angrier and more agitated with each person who tried to shove him off.

"Takeo come help me with the body." Dempsey quietly called. I walked around the agitated Maxis and was beginning to kneel down to help pick up Richtofen's body, but then I saw the impossible happen.

* * *

_Nikolai_

There was a sharp gasp for air, a wretched sound that startled everyone, even Maxis darted around to see where it had originated from. On the ground, Dr. Richtofen had risen from the dead, his chest once again contracting and expanding. His eyes were no longer glazed as he blinked vigorously to clear them, the hue of his skin began to return, it was like watching him die in reverse.

"Jesus Christ!" Dempsey jumped up from the body that had just returned to life.

"What is this horrible witchcraft?!" Takeo shouted as he turned to Maxis for answers.

"I told you he wasn't dead." he explained pointing to the obviously alive Dr. Richtofen.

"But, his heart wasn't beating, he wasn't even breathing, and do you fucking see all that blood on the ground!" Rune joined in with us.

"I understand that, but please we must get him into a stasis chamber soon, or else he vill die." he began to insist fervently.

"Why, he's alive now isn't he?" Dempsey questioned.

"Yes, but just barely, right now he's in a temporary stable condition we have to get him into a stasis chamber as soon as possible."

"The only closest place with stasis chambers is Eisenhower and that's a six hour drive from here." Rune informed the frazzled scientist.

"That's just enough time to get him into one. Ve have to go now, or else he vill die!" Maxis urged. Dempsey looked at me, then at Takeo, and finally at Rune until he nodded.

"Nikolai, help me carry him to the garage." he ordered. I obeyed helping him lift Richtofen all the way to the other side of the outpost.

We put him in the back seat of one of the Duneracers and had to strap him in, despite his condition.

"Rune will drive you to Eisenhower, with her it'll only take four hours tops to get there." Dempsey declared.

"But, Dempsey I'd have to speed, do you realize I'll get pulled over for that." she began to protest. That was true, being pulled over by the police with a nearly dead person strapped in the back would be a very bad situation, but our woes were answered when Gen. Spade entered.

"If you need to get there in a hurry I'll call up the police departments, I'll tell them to make an exception. You'll need to have this though." he offered pulling out a small GPS chip and giving it to Rune.

"When the police see you coming by this will set off their radios to tell them to let you by. You only use this on the way there, got it?" he explained. Rune nodded, and he nodded back and moved out of the way of the Duneracer as did the rest of us.

"Strap in Dr. Maxis," she warned as she started the vehicle, "this is going to be one hell of a ride."

The Duneracer roared out of the garage and took off like bat out of hell down the trail that lead to Eisenhower leaving behind it a huge dust plume. We didn't say anything as we watched the Duneracer's silhouette get smaller and smaller as it went down the trail and finally reached the actual road.

"Dr. Maxis is going to have some serious explaining to do." Dempsey growled as he took off into Garrison. At least now the invasion was over, but that was hardly anything to really celebrate about, we had some other dead to tend to and wounded men that needed treatment.

* * *

_Maxis_

The road for a very long time was virtually empty, give or take a few stray vehicles now and then. I could see why Ms. Albana had warned to me to buckle up beforehand, the speedometer was reading 68 kilometers per hour. I had a feeling that we would get there with time to spare, she didn't seem at all scared at the speed she was going, but there was another look, like she was ready to go faster if she needed to.

"Dr. Richtofen's one hell of a survivor." she broke the silence between making herself loud enough to hear over the sound of the tires almost shredding the pavement.

"Ja, it's just one of his... traits you could say." I replied.

The wind in my face was almost unbearable, I was tempted to ask if she could do something about it, but I really didn't want to seem so concerned for myself when it was Richtofen I should be concerned about. Almost as though she had read my mind, however, she flipped a switch near the wheel and windows slowly encased the openings of the Duneracer. Now the noise of the tires and engine were minimized and we wouldn't have to basically shout over them.

"What I want to know is how he managed to cheat death back there." she demanded in a casual tone. She was waiting for my explaination, but telling her about it would only do bad for me in the long run so I decided to play it safe.

"I'd rather not say until we can get him to Eisenhower and we've made sure he's going to live." I replied.

"Fair enough, but don't think you're going to get out of telling me." she warned. She'd never taken her eyes off the road, which was now beginning to become more populated the longer we drove until it was almost city-like. Billboards, road signs, and evenly paved roads greeted us to actual civilization and the city-scape of Eisenhower rose slowly in the distance. I hardly thought that three hours had passed, but they had and indeed we were already close to our destination and just as General Spade had promised, we had not been pulled over for speeding.

Apparently with all the luck in the world, or just a few calls from Gen. Spade himself the roads were relatively clear, the closer we got to Eisenhower the more police cars I could see. They were blocking some roads off to keep the roads we were using more clear for our express arrival into the city. Ten minutes away from the city the gray and almost oppressive wall that surrounded it came into view and the gate inside the New York-esque city awaited. As we approached a stop at the gate the man in the booth leaned out and inspected us and then looked at the back seat.

"So you're the ones the General called about?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." Ms. Albana responded quickly.

The man picked up a very slim phone and dialed in a number.

"Yes, they're here send an ambulance to pick 'em." he spoke on it before hanging up. "They'll be here in a moment."

"Thank you." Rune thanked.

"Are ve allowed to go vith ze ambulance?" I asked the man.

"You're Dr. Maxis, right?" he asked.

"Yes I am."

"Yeah, they'll want you to help with your colleague there." he answered.

I looked back to Richtofen and then took a glance at Rune.

"Can she come as vell?" I asked.

"What would I do with the vehicle if I went with you?" she questioned.

"We'll take it to the police lot if you want, it'll be safe there." the man suggested. She looked at me with a mixed expression on her face and then she answered.

"Go ahead and do that. I'll go with Dr. Maxis and Dr. Richtofen."

Just then the ambulance arrived and we promptly exited the Duneracer as the man in the booth asked for Rune's keys. Two paramedics came out of the back with a stretcher and placed Richtofen on it and put him into the back.

"C'mon now we don't have all the time in the world." One of them urged. Rune and I both hopped into the back and with practiced precision they shut the doors and started off with the sirens blaring to alert those on the road.


	29. Watching The Dukni Burn

***Alright, so this will be the first chapter you get to see a flashback from Richtofen! However, there are a lot of military rankings involved in it so I'll lay out the format beforehand so in descending order (for the ranks that you will see in the flashback): Lieutenant (Lt.) Warrant Officer (WO) Command Sergeant Major (CSM) First Sergeant (1SG) Master Sergeant (MSG) Staff Sergeant (SSG).**

_Rune_

There was no fuss getting Dr. Richtofen into the hospital, he was unconscious which made taking him in a lot easier for all those involved and with Dr. Maxis' influence they'd put him in a stasis chamber in no time at all. Usually there was a waiting list for stasis chambers that took months to dwindle down, but as soon as Maxis told the staff who he was and whom he was bringing in they were on it instantly. The room they'd put Richtofen in was on the fourth floor of the building seeing as he wasn't too unstable when the stasis chamber started and when Maxis had commented on his temporary stability wearing off. Now we were both in the room with a man named Dr. Theodore Selsig checking on Richtofen and making sure everything was going all right. To my right Dr. Maxis was uneasy, shifting around in a chair and nervously looking over everything Dr. Selsig did.

"Everything is checked and going smoothly. Nurse DeNair will be coming in two hours from now to administer the sedatives if necessary, other than that he should be fine." Dr. Selsig declared.

"Thank you, Dr. Selsig." Maxis gratefully breathed.

"Anything for my old college professor." Dr. Selsig said patting Maxis' shoulder lightly before he left. Now it was just us alone in this room with the stasis chamber that contained Dr. Richtofen who had just been dead six hours ago.

"You have good friends in high places don't you, Dr. Maxis." I remarked.

"Ja, Selsig is a very good man. He vas very promising in medical school und very successful in his vork today." he informed me. He was still focused on Richtofen, still fidgeting in the chair, tapping his foot or strumming his fingers on the armrests. I was just glad to know that he would make it, having seen him take on a Tyrant, and kill a Dukni Elder all in one day, I wanted him back at Garrison.

Of course I hadn't forgotten the questions I had tried to get answered on the drive here and seeing that we were alone now was as best of time as any to get those answers.

"Dr. Maxis..." I called strongly. He turned to face me, but I only gave him a strict stare and his expression softened and he sighed.

"You still vant to know how, ja?" he stated.

"Yes." I answered.

"Very vell, but it is quite an explanation."

"I've got time."

He leaned back in his chair, actually trying to relax his nerves, and then he spoke.

"Dr. Richtofen is an undeniable genius, the very process that he used to bring himself back to life he made by himself as a fail-safe of sorts. Vhenever he is injured he's programmed his nanobots to resist leaving his body through ze blood zhat is being released thus, vhen he "died" many of his nanobots were still remaining in vhat vas left of his blood. Zhese nanobots began producing electrical impulses creating ze same effect as a defibrillator in order to jump-start his heart again, all ze vhile repairing ze damage he had sustained during his fight."

I let all of that sink in and put it all together in my head then understood the process as best as I could.

"So his nanobots became defibrillators of sorts and revived him, but to do that there would have to have been a lot of them to successfully pull it off." I commented.

"Ah ja, Richtofen has a higher zhan average amount of nanobots as vell as slightly superior models as vell." he explained.

"Well doesn't he have all the luck." I scoffed.

"Not all ze luck. He did just die six hours ago." Maxis chided.

Silence fell over both of us; outside the sun had just started setting behind the large skyscrapers of Eisenhower. I started getting out of my chair and stretching, I still had yet to call Dempsey and tell him that we'd made it here.

"Vhere are you going?" Maxis asked worriedly.

"I'm going to call Dempsey, tell him we're here." I answered.

"All right... Oh, und vhile you're out und about could you get some drinks, perhaps?"

"I'll see what I can do."

The nearest public phone was on the second floor which was eerily empty, but that should have been a good thing in a hospital. I dialed in Dempsey's number and waited for him to pick up for about fifteen seconds until he did so.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Hey, Dempsey." I replied.

"Rune! Oh thank god, are you guys in Eisenhower? Was the ride there okay, nothing bad happened, right?" he started babbling worriedly.

"Tank, we're fine. Richtofen's in a stasis chamber and Maxis is in his room with him. Everything was fine getting here, we're all okay." I assured him.

"That's good, things here have settled down for the most part. The military already left with Spade and we've already counted the wounded and dead." he informed me.

"How many did we lose?" I asked grimly.

"Three, Ridel, Jameson, and Ingler."

"When are you having the service?"

"Tomorrow, but if you have to stay in Eisenhower that's okay."

"I don't know how long we're going to be here, but I know that Richtofen's okay for now."

He didn't reply to that news, but I could guess that he was pleased with not having to add a fourth man to the KIA count. We didn't say much of anything else after that and it was just an awkward silence for ten seconds.

"I'll see you when we get back." I said.

"Yeah, make it back safe." he replied.

"I will." I ended, putting the phone back in it's slot and running my hands through my hair, which I noticed was grimy with sweat and dirt that had accumulated during our fight.

"I need to take a shower." I muttered to myself.

When I went back to the room with two bottles of water, one in each hand, I noticed that Maxis was now standing and looking into the stasis chamber. I knocked on the door with my knuckles to alert him to my return; he spun his head quickly and then turned back to watching Richtofen. I approached him and handed him a bottle which he took gladly and unscrewed the lid with a passive ferocity.

"Thank you." he said.

"You're welcome." I replied taking a seat and starting to drink my bottle of water.

As Dr. Selsig had said, the nurse with the sedatives had come in and asked if they were needed or not. Maxis had replied negatively and she left compliantly saying that if we needed her all we needed to do was call. The silence was almost unbearable, I was almost ready to crash until Maxis abruptly started talking.

"I'm glad it vasn't vorse." he muttered darkly.

"It could have been worse?" I commented sleepily.

"Much vorse..." he drifted off into silence once more.

Thirty minutes after the nurse had come in we had a surprise visit from Dr. Selsig again.

"Dr. Maxis," he started, grabbing both of our attentions, "we can get you a room in a hotel if you'd like? You don't have to stay here, we'll make sure he's taken good care of."

"Thank you, but..." he trailed off again.

"I understand how you feel, but you don't have anything to worry about." Dr. Selsig insisted.

"I know, but I'd rather not leave his side... he's like a son to me, und I'd feel bad if I left him here." Maxis explained. Dr. Selsig nodded then he noted my presence in the room.

"What about you Ms. Albana, would you rather stay in a hotel room tonight, or would you like to stay with Dr. Maxis?" he asked me gently. I took a look at Maxis, who I was surprised to see was looking at me as well with an almost pleading expression on his face.

"I'll stay here as well, I'm his ride through the city if he needs it and I don't know if he'll want to go somewhere or not." I responded.

"Very well then, if you need blankets or pillows or anything just call the reception desk and they'll bring it right up." he informed us before leaving again.

It was 26:45 until Dr. Maxis had finally called it quits and was started to give into to sleep, something that I was also ready to do. Just as Dr. Selsig had said, two of the janitorial staff brought us pillows and blankets and they had gratefully closed the door behind them. I was going to feel bad for asking, but I didn't really want to sleep with the light in the room still on.

"Dr. Maxis?" I started.

"Ja, vhat is it?" he replied sleepily.

"Is it okay to turn the lights off in here, or do they need to be on?"

"It's fine, go ahead. It's not ze first time I've slept in a hospital room like zhis."

I got up and turned off the lights, but to my slight displeasure the stasis chamber had it's own lights, but my displeasure was soon replaced with a little gratitude. The soft blue light that emanated from it was more hypnotic than anything and I was out like a candle, despite the discomfort of sleeping in a chair.

* * *

_Richtofen_

_September 21st, 2089_

_ 23:00 Earth Time_

_ Location: Dragon's Crown, Gygax; Corona Beta System_

_ It was an hour until we were cleared to start the mission, our target, a Dukni encampment ten miles outside of Feldar. We had been informed that within the encampment were enemy plans that would prove valuable to have in order to plan counterattacks and prepare for any more drops on Gygax. These plans were only a secondary objective to the mission, the primary was to eliminate all hostile forces within the encampment of which there had been counted twenty-six. These twenty-six Dukni, however, were no fools, they were experienced and an elite force trained to take on soldiers like us. No doubt, they would be preparing for anything, especially an attack from the likes of us. _

_ "Fourty minutes until zero-time." Lt. Ian Albana, our platoon leader, relayed to us. There were six of us on this mission; our seventh member, Doppelganger, had been excluded due to several mental instabilities. Currently it was Hydra: 1SG Dennis Spade, Zombie: SSG Rhiannon Flemens, Ghost: WO Starsun Eckrich, Manticore: CSM Gunther Latriore, Chimera: SSG Rick Stenson, Dragon: Lt. Ian Albana, and myself Leviathan. I was the newest member of the platoon, but that did not mean that I was the least experienced, having achieved the rank of Master Sergeant last month for a string of missions we'd done two months prior. _

_ "Keep an eye out, three man foot patrol circling the perimeter of the encampment." SSG Flemens reported over the shared radio channel._

_ I was waiting patiently on the rocky hillside along with Ghost and Dragon, while Zombie was alone at the higher point of the hill keeping eyes on the encampment which was surrounded by a high chain link fence. Manticore and Chimera were just below us prepping their equipment and making sure it was all present. _

_ "Ghost, start setting up." Lt. Albana ordered. Just in front of me, Ghost removed the large caliber sniper rifle from his back and attached the bi-pod to the barrel, resting it on top of the fairly level boulder he was positioned at. _

_ "Ready." he replied. _

_ "Acknowledged. Manticore, Chimera, we are a go in thirty minutes, are you prepared?" Lt. Albana asked. _

_ Below I could hear them shuffling things around and then quieting again._

_ "We are ready to go, sir." CSM Latriore responded. _

_ "Acknowledged."_

_ Things were truly silent again for a while, until Zombie updated us to the encampments movements._

_ "The patrol makes a full circle around the perimeter every eighteen minutes. Make sure you watch for the Ki'la'zi General, he's being very active." _

_ "Will do, Zombie." Dragon acknowledged. _

_ We were nearly ten minutes until we were cleared to begin the mission and I was nervous, but I was sure we all were. These were elite Dukni we were going up against, they would know how to kill us and they would do so without hesitation. My grip on my silenced assault rifle tightened with every time update from Lt. Albana. I kept my mind occupied on the mission details and kept replaying every situation possibility in my head until it was time._

_ "Five... four... three... two... one... Mission is a go. Manticore, Chimera begin taking pre-breach positions." Lt. Albana ordered._

_ "Yes, sir." _

_ They quickly and quietly made their way down the hillside without being noticed by the Dukni and made it to a natural indent that looked to the encampment in a northeast direction. _

_ "Manticore and Chimera are set up and in position, sir." Manticore replied. _

_ "Acknowledged, Ghost, Manticore, and Chimera choose your targets on the three man patrol then wait for my signal." Dragon ordered. I saw Ghost draw himself closer to the rifle to look through the sight and things were tensely quiet._

_ "Ready... Fire." _

_ The hiss of the silenced bullet from Ghost made me jump slightly, but I watched as the small figures that were a quarter of the way around the perimeter all dropped without a sound. _

_ "Patrol confirmed, no alert was set off, you are green light for the next step." Zombie confirmed over the channel._

_ "Right, Ghost you stay here and provide sniper support. Manticore and Chimera make your way to pre-breach position number two, Hydra prep for Situation Red, Leviathan on me." Dragon ordered. I followed him down the hillside, making sure not to make any noise as I did so and we stopped behind a boulder. He checked the encampment ahead of us and looked around us._

_ "Watch it, the General is moving through the encampment, currently approaching the third right shelter in the third row." Zombie warned. _

_ "Manticore, Chimera prep your stealth suits, as soon as you see Leviathan and I in quadrant three you head in." Dragon relayed. _

_ "Roger that." Chimera replied. _

_ "Let's go Lev." _

_ I followed him once again and this time we were quick to run across to the lower left corner of the encampment on the outside of the chain link fence. I looked back to see that Manticore and Chimera had just started to walk into the opening of the fence as their bodies soon became nearly flawless with their surroundings. _

_ They took out the horizontal row of shelters with deadly silence and utmost precision, after which Dragon and I quickly entered the encampment ourselves and took to eliminating the second horizontal row while Manticore and Chimera took the third, excluding the shelter where the General was currently residing. In each shelter there were two Dukni inside who were either sleeping in most cases or awake for some reason or another. Only one shelter was empty and another single shelter housed only one Dukni because of the patrol that had been eliminated earlier. The last shelter was the General's and it was set apart from the others, that's where the plans would be located and Manticore and Chimera had been tasked to take them. _

_ "Dragon, Leviathan, watch it the General is on the move towards your location!" Zombie warned. _

_ "Let's go Lev." Dragon urged._

_ We sped off into first row of shelters taking refuge in the empty one and listening in on anymore updates from SSG Flemens. _

_ "Manticore, Chimera, the General is returning to his shelter, get out of there as soon as possible." Zombie reported. _

_ "Got the plans, leaving the General's shelter now." Manticore responded. _

_ "Lev on me, we're taking out the last two Dukni soldiers in the untapped shelter." Lt. Albana ordered. I obeyed and followed him to the outside of the shelter._

_ I took the left side of the entrance and he took the right, we both looked across at each other and with his command we both came in and noticed that there was no one in this shelter. I knew right then and there the Dukni inside were aware of our presence and had set up, but that didn't matter in the half-second it took for them to drop down on us. The one that dropped on Lt. Albana had managed to get him under his weight and now had him pinned, the one that had tried to drop on me I had quickly back-stepped and shot him in the back. This did not kill him immediately allowing him to cry out in agony for only a split second before I shot him in the back of the skull shutting him up. The Dukni on Ian had a lot more than it bargained for when the Lieutenant managed to pull out his knife and stab him in the leg causing him to howl with pain at which point I shot him as fast as I had shot the other one. _

_ The two Dukni were dealt with quickly, but with the tussle and just minimal noises we could have very well alerted the General to our presence here. Those fears were well confirmed when Zombie chimed in. _

_ "Dragon, Lev, get out of there now the General is armed and knows you're there." she urged. We wasted no time in leaving the shelter and dashing to another one, trying to shake the General off of our tail._

_ "Ghost, can you get a shot on the General?" Dragon asked, quietly in the shelter we were in. _

_ "Yes, sir." _

_ "I need you to take the shot." _

_ "On your command, sir." _

_ Lt. Albana waiting until he could hear the heavy thumping of the huge Ki'la'zi making his way to our current hiding place. The mere second the sound stopped Lt. Albana gave the order and we heard the even louder and satisfying thump of the General falling to the ground. We rushed outside to check and see if the kill was confirmed and indeed it was, with one single shot that exited straight center of his forehead. _

_ "Kill confirmed, all targets have been eliminated and confirmed dead. Plans have been retrieved, Hydra calling in Situation Red." Dragon relayed after we were all outside of the encampment and back on the hillside where we had started. _

_ A single laser beam traced the perimeter of the encampment and for a while it was eerily quiet as we awaited Situation Red to get underway. I caught a glimpse of a bright flash of light in the corner of my vision and a salvo of small missiles began to hit and bring the entire place alight with flames. _

_ "Situation Red has been achieved." Hydra reported over the channel. _

_ "Acknowledged. The time is 03:25 Earth Time, mission completed ten minutes early. Zombie call in the exfil and prepare to head to back to base, same to everyone else." Lt. Albana ordered. _

_ As the encampment went up in flames I couldn't help but watch the flames rise higher and higher into the sky. Even as we were heading to the LZ I still looked back and saw it, and while we were waiting I watched. I felt a light touch on my right shoulder and jumped, I saw Lt. Albana who was also watching the fiery spectacle. _

_ "You did well, MSG Richtofen." he said removing his helmet. _

_ "Danke, sir." I replied, removing mine as well. _

_ I could feel the eyes of the others watching us, but I ignored them, I was too busy watching the fire dance on the establishment that once belonged to the enemy. All the while, though, I couldn't help but think that this was too easy, like they had wanted us to succeed. _


	30. On The Road Again

_Maxis_

Last night's sleep had not been a very satisfying one, with being worried half to death about Richtofen's health and having to sleep in a chair it was all fairly draining. Rune was awake before me and had graciously gotten us both something to eat for breakfast from the hospital cafeteria. I couldn't thank her enough for all she had done and was currently doing for me and for Edward, and adding to the fact that she hadn't really asked for much in return. I could answer whatever question came to her mind and figure out something to say that wouldn't land me in a federal bind, and even so she never asked the really straining and overly specific questions. Like yesterday when she had asked how Edward had managed to revive himself, that could have gone a number of different ways, but I had omitted the necessary background to incriminate myself enough to warrant federal attention.

Yes, there was much that a lot of the public didn't know about within our employers work and our own work in 935, but it was to their benefit and their protection. I wasn't saying that everything we did was bad, but some of that bad far outweighed the good sometimes. Then again other times the situation was reversed and then there were the neutral outcomes. Overall, however, it was best they be mostly oblivious to our work, if they could help it.

"How are you feeling?" Rune asked me abruptly, just as I was taking a bite of the omelet she'd brought from the cafeteria.

"I'm fine." I answered after swallowing the mouthful of omelet.

"That's good. How do you think Richtofen is doing?" she continued. I took a glance at the control panel in the front of the stasis chamber.

"He's doing very well actually, his nanobots must have reset themselves." I remarked.

"Reset?"

"Ja, vhenever zhey complete ze process zhey go "offline" for a vhile in order for his body to naturally accept being alive again. After zhat zhey come back "online" und take zheir normal course through his system." I explained.

"Do you think he'll be out today?" she asked.

"I don't know about today, but perhaps tomorrow. He's still got to get re-orientated a bit vith being alive again." I answered.

"So I take it this has happened before."

I was hesitant to answer because I thought I might give something away here, but I had to say something so I thought of something that would get the point across.

"Ja, it has, but it vas mostly because of unfortunate events, ze last time zhis happened he vas shot by a thug in an alleyvay." I put out.

"Ha, that fellow must have had a thorough surprise." she chuckled.

"Indeed he did... indeed he did." I replied getting back to my meal.

"No wonder the government wants to keep tabs on him. He's a super soldier in his own right."

_More than you know, Ms. Albana. More than you know..._

"Ja, he could be called such, but he prefers not be portrayed as zhat."

I took a glance at the control panel again, but when I did I realized that his heart rate was increasing; he was waking up, still in the stasis chamber.

"Call ze nurse, quickly." I urged leaving my breakfast behind and watching over the chamber.

"What for? Is something wrong?" Rune asked.

"Zhere vill be if ve don't get ze nurse in here. Tell zhem to bring sedatives as vell." I ordered. She picked up the phone and called without further ado and asked for the nurse and the sedatives.

We were on the fourth floor, it would take a while for them to get here, which wasn't in our favor as he would surely wake up before they got here. On the panel his heart rate was still increasing, I was afraid he was now aware of his current situation.

"Is there something wrong with him?" she asked, beginning to get worried. She looked into the stasis chamber at the wrong time, just when Edward's eyes flashed open with fear. She jumped back quickly, and it didn't help her that he was actively trying to get out, banging his fists on the glass and shouting in German.

"Edward calm down! You're fine, you are in a safe place! You're in a hospital, it's all right!" I tried fruitlessly to calm him. He still insisted on trying to break the glass, it horrible watching him vie for escape. The nurse came in unaware of the situation and she was just as panicked as Rune had been.

"Nurse please, ve have to get him under now!" I urged. She steeled her nerves and went directly to the control panel, pressed the button that let a slot open and she placed the vial of sedative inside. Once she pressed the button again it closed and a faintly white mist filled the stasis chamber.

His movement began slowing and weakening as the sedatives took their course, his heart rate decreased and slowed back down to a normal pace. His arms came back down to his sides and his eyes fluttered shut, hopefully he would stay that way for another three hours or so. The nurse left with a little hesitation, but she left nonetheless leaving Rune and I alone in here once again.

"Does he have a fear of tight spaces or something?" Rune asked, the initial fright having washed away.

"He doesn't like stasis chambers. It's a fear he's had since his childhood, I have no idea vhy, he just has it." I explained.

"He'll be okay now right?"

"He should be, yes, but he still has yet to take his medication since yesterday afternoon..." I started, but then trailed off, thinking of the many horrible possibilities that could play out if he woke up next time.

"How do you plan on getting him to take it if he's going to act like that?" she questioned.

"He should okay to leave ze chamber in ze next two hours. Vhen he vakes up again he should be less... dramatic." I concluded.

"So long as he doesn't go on another fit like that."

My conclusion was correct as Dr. Selsig came in with two other men nearly two hours after Richtofen's scene.

"Is he okay now?" he asked.

"Ja, he's fine now, but I vould rather get him out of zhere as soon as possible to avoid another occurrence." I answered.

"Of course, let's get to it." he wasted no time in powering down the chamber and letting the other two open it. With the chamber completely open one of the men went outside of the room and pulled in a gurney while the other was already cautiously lifting Edward out of it.

"You can follow us to the new room we'll be taking him to." Dr. Selsig said before following the two men pulling the gurney along. Rune and I both took up the offer and followed them through the building, in the elevators, and down ramps until we reached the ground floor and entered the new room. Once he was placed on the bed and it was made sure he was all right the two other men left while Dr. Selsig stayed.

"He has a very quick healing factor doesn't he." Dr. Selsig stated.

"Ja, he does, one of ze traits zhat keeps him alive." I replied.

"Yes, if you need anything else you can still call us."

With that he left the room and for some odd reason I had remembered that I didn't finish the breakfast back on the fourth floor, but it didn't matter now as it would soon be lunch time anyway.

* * *

_Rune_

Now that he was out of the stasis chamber and laid out on a bed I could see all the points where he had been hit the day before. His armor had long been removed in order to fit him in the chamber in the first place and what was left was the black jumpsuit that had been torn in several areas. There was the hole where the Dukni rifle had shot through his side, and the cuts on his arms from his fight with the Elder. With the current status of the jumpsuit it was obvious he would be getting something new to wear after he was okay to leave. On the clock in the room, which was annoyingly a Terran clock, it read 2 o' clock meaning it was 14:00 here.

"You wanna go get lunch?" I asked Dr. Maxis lightly. He took his attention off of Richtofen for a while and then returned it, sighing.

"Ja, he should be fine for now. At least long enough for us to eat." he sighed turning to leave the room. I closed the door behind me and caught up with him as we headed for the cafeteria, not wanting to leave the building entirely.

Neither of us ate much, Maxis only finished a small burger (which I was surprised to see that not a single crumb of food got tangled in that beard of his) and I just ate half of mine before guzzling down another bottle of water and calling it quits. While I was waiting for him to finish I watched the TV in the cafeteria which was set on the news currently.

**Female Reporter-"Good afternoon on this nice Tuesday. The events of yesterday's Dukni invasion attempt are still being tallied as the severity of these attempts did indeed vary across Serna. As of now the worst locations of yesterday's invasion were the Highlands, Badlands, and the Green Zone. A total of forty-eight soldiers were killed in action during yesterday's events."**

**Male Reporter- "Today on Earth NASA is preparing for another colonization attempt on Sigma IV, after three more months of terraforming and atmospheric tinkering since the last one." **

**Female Reporter- "On Mars preparations for Grav-racing season are taking place and many of the fans of the sport are showing their support for their favorite racers. We now take you live to Zeus Speedway with our correspondent, Arthur Townsly."**

**Correspondent- "Michelle I'm here at Zeus Speedway where, already, fans are buying their tickets in bulk for the first race of the season due in two more weeks as set by the GRU. Participants are still being tallied for the first race, but it has been confirmed that the Eidolon, Dragonfly, Yoshi, and Deep Space crews will be racing this year." **

The mention of Eidolon crew made me clench my teeth, and I stood up from the table.

"Vhat is vrong?" Dr. Maxis asked me.

"Nothing, I just don't want to wait here... I'm going to head back to the room." I answered.

"All right zhen, make sure Edward is still okay. I'd hate to see him all riled up und trying to hurt himself." he said before I made it out of earshot of him.

I made it back to the room and it took me a while to notice there was sound inside, from the TV. I looked up at the corner it was stationed in, but then became curious as to why it was on, Dr. Maxis hadn't turned it on and I hadn't. I saw movement on the bed and there, Richtofen was staring at me, it was very disconcerting though as he didn't say a word and his eyes were very unnerving. They hadn't really bothered me before, but with a combination of silence and some creepy aura emanating from them it was more than enough to make me gladly turn my attention to the TV instead.

"It must upset you..." I heard him speak in a very weak voice.

"What?" I asked, my eyes still locked on the television.

"To see zhat Eidolon crew is racing again zhis year." he clarified.

"Why do you think _that_ would make me upset?"

"I looked into it und saw ze news reports done on ze day zhey deliberately put you out of ze races last year. It's unjust how zhey didn't disqualify zhem right zhen und zhere, it vas obviously done on purpose." he sympathized.

"That's all in the past now." I muttered.

I heard him laugh quietly and then watched as the TV was switched to another channel instead of the news.

"You may think zhat, but trust me, ze past alvays has a vay of creeping back up on you." he warned.

"I take it yesterday was a prime example of that happening to you, right." I stated.

"Ja, but my past... it's all a tangled mess, even I can't remember when it ends or begins." he replied.

"Must be fun trying to figure everything back out."

"You couldn't even imagine."

After a moment of quiet I decided to actually look back at him, and to my discomfort he was still staring at me.

"Need something?" I asked, getting quite annoyed of it.

"Could you help me up?" he pleaded.

"You don't need to be getting up just after you've woken up from sedation." I chided.

"I'd rather get out of here as soon I as I can. Vouldn't you?"

I glared at him with annoyance, but eventually gave in and tried to help him sit up on the bed, it ended in failure.

"See I told you. You still aren't ready to get out of here yet. We can stay as long as we need to there's no rush." I growled.

"I don't vant to stay here, I'd rather be back in Garrison doing things rather zhan be laying here, useless." he hissed. Seconds after he'd said that Dr. Maxis came in and noticed immediately that his comrade had awoken, but was not aware of his displeasure at the moment.

"Edward, you're avake, zhis is good news." he cheered, almost clapping his hands together, but instead folding them to the same effect.

"Ja, I am, but can ve get going. Call whoever is taking care of me und tell him to bring a dosage of vitalizers." Richtofen urged unceremoniously.

"Vhy are you in such a rush to get back to Garrison, did you leave something important zhere?" Maxis questioned.

"Yes, my medication! Ze ones zhey used on me aren't vorking!"

"It vas ze old dosage?! Nein, I thought zhey vould have..."

"Nevermind about vhy, just get me out of here und back to Garrison before I start going mad!"

He was now clutching his head tightly like he was afraid it would fall off or something. Maxis had picked up the phone and called the reception for Dr. Selsig and a dose of vitalizers to come as soon as possible.

"You hang in zhere Edward, zhey're on zheir vay." Dr. Maxis assured hanging up the phone and watching him intently.

"Rune... " Richtofen addressed through his clenched teeth.

"Yes?"

"Go und get ze Duneracer now. Ve'll be outside ze hospital vhen you get it to ze front. Go!" he urged.

I looked to Maxis for some confirmation, but all I got was a worried stare from him. I decided to go ahead and go through with his demand and I found the nearest public phone and called the police station so they could bring the Duneracer here. They were quick about getting it to the hospital and I was in it in no time and just as Richtofen had said, he and Maxis were heading outside as well. Richtofen tried to fake his strength, but halfway to the Duneracer he had to rely on Dr. Maxis to help him walk to it. The two got in with a little difficulty and that's when Maxis pulled out a small syringe of liquid that flashed by in a second and stabbed Richtofen in the arm.

"Ach! Shizer!" Dr. Richtofen growled, glaring his eyes dangerously at his superior.

"Sorry Edward, but you know as vell as I do zhat it vas necessary." he justified.

The ailing doctor laid his head back with his hand grasped on his left arm where Maxis had stabbed him with the syringe.

"Let's get going, the sooner we get back the better." Dr. Maxis urged his voice full of fear. Whatever was so important had to be something that wouldn't end well for any of us so I drove as quickly (and as legally) as I could in order to make it out of the city, which was still a task in itself. I managed to make it out eventually and get back on the main highways that came from all around, but I turned on the ramp that led back to the least populated one that headed back home to Garrison. However, we wouldn't get there in time for the service, it had already passed being 18:26 as we made it onto the road back to the outpost.


	31. Maybe There's Still A Chance

_Dempsey_

The service was short, they always were, no one wanted to stay around for long and grieve; it just wasn't in people's natures here. There was too much to worry about that lied outside those walls, besides we'd soon be joining them anyway regardless of how careful we were. Three new grave markers had been added with the names of the three militiamen we'd lost in yesterday's attack. The left one, Hank Ingler, the middle, Ralph Jameson, and the right one, Derrick Ridel. They all had families off planet that I had to call yesterday and tell them the awful news.

It was never easy loosing men out here where the Dukni made regular attempts to drop and try to make a foothold. The one thing that was for sure was that we would be getting three new men to come and replace them. From what I'd heard from Gen. Spade they would be military men which was convenient for us because that meant we didn't have to train them all that much, we just had to get them orientated with the way things worked here. I was turning to leave the graveyard when I saw in the distance the trademark dust cloud that heralded the arrival of a Duneracer. I had a hard time accepting the fact that it might have been Rune, but that wouldn't be right, from the way Dr. Richtofen looked before he left he would have been in the hospital for much longer than a day.

When I saw Takeo rushing to get to me from his post up on the wall I knew then that it was indeed Rune who was returning.

"Dempsey, it's Rune and she's with Dr. Maxis and Dr. Richtofen." he reported.

"They're coming back this early?" I gasped, still trying to believe that they'd left after only one day there.

"It appears so, but it doesn't rook rike Dr. Richtofen is in his best condition."

"Then why are they coming back so soon? If he needed to stay they should have stayed."

Takeo shrugged his shoulders and I dismissed him before heading to the gate to see for myself when they arrived. Rune drove up with a half-hurried speed and as they passed by and stopped in front of the garage I could see that Takeo had been right about Richtofen's condition, he looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"You get Richtofen to the building and get him straightened out." Rune addressed Dr. Maxis who wasted no time and helping Richtofen out of the Duneracer.

"You're back so early, what happened?" I asked.

"Richtofen didn't want to stay there, he insisted on coming back and taking the medication he had here. The hospital didn't have the right dosage he needed and now... Well, I don't know what'll happen, but so far it doesn't look good." she answered.

My attention immediately went to the fact that Richtofen hadn't taken his meds, something that probably scared me just as bad as it did for Dr. Maxis.

"How long has he been like this?" I inquired.

"Every since he woke up in the hospital which was about seven hours ago. The way he's been acting since then has been really... odd."

"What do you mean by "odd", exactly?"

"He's kind been having mood swings, really severe ones. The entire drive here he was calm and quiet and the next minute he was edgy and agitated. That and he kept on complaining about a headache and from the way he looked it looked like it was extremely painful."

I shuddered as I thought back to what I'd read on the files, with Rune's observations alone I could already fill in some of the information that was left blank on them when I'd read it a while back.

"He hasn't hurt anyone yet, has he?" I continued.

"No, he's been too miserable to do much of anything except complain about his misery. It makes me uncomfortable to see that even Maxis was adamant on leaving so early." she replied.

"Then let's just hope he doesn't hurt anyone here." I said going back into the outpost leaving Rune to park the Duneracer back into the garage.

I started for the barracks and when I got inside I saw Nikolai getting ready for his patrol run, he casted an awkward glance at me for moment and then turned his attention elsewhere. I didn't much care for why he did so, I was more worried about looking over those files again and seeing if I could try to prevent something if some worse case scenario was about to happen. I was just about to start reading when I saw the Russian walk into my office carefully, his hands behind his back.

"What do you need Nikolai?" I questioned as he was just about to say something. He cleared his throat and put his hands in front of him.

"When you get the time Dempsey... I need to talk to you about something... in private." he said almost mumbling his sentence. The way he was looking at me didn't comfort me at all, I had a feeling that what he needed to talk about was something deathly important. He stood in the doorway for a while and I starting feeling terrible about it, I set the papers aside and waved him inside my office. He closed the door behind him and took a seat in front of me, that pitiful stare still stuck on his face.

"What's bothering you?" I asked him with a gentle voice.

He shifted around in his chair and tried to conceal his nervousness, but it wasn't working.

"It's about my home... there have been some issues going on lately and I feel that I may not be safe here anymore." he explained nervously. Right then I realized that he was talking about his connections back on Earth in Russia.

"They've found you?" I asked. He nodded solemnly and pulled out a letter from his belt pouch and handed it to me.

I couldn't read any of it because it was all in Russian, but at the bottom was a familiar mark from the Russian mafia, and to make things worse I knew exactly who's mark it was.

"Your father." I muttered to him. He nodded again taking the letter back slowly and then placing it back in his pouch before saying anything more.

"He's looking for me, he's wanting me to take over the family business." Nikolai grumbled.

"You don't plan on taking up the offer do you?"

He was silent, hanging his head trying to mull things over in his mind until speaking again.

"Honestly Tank, I don't know... My family has been good to me even if they do some... less than honorable work." he struggled to find the right words.

"Nikolai you can't just pack up and leave so abruptly not with what happened yesterday, and besides your father is a don. For you to take his place... do you know what you'd be getting into if you became the don?!" I protested calmly.

"Tank, please. I still haven't made up my mind about it yet, but I'm strongly considering not taking it." he assured me.

I wasn't convinced, but I knew Nikolai, he never acted like a mobster let alone tried to. He was a soldier, pure and simple, that was why he'd taken a place in the Terran Ground Forces in the first place, to get away from the Russian mafia. Now, however, they wanted him back and if from what he'd told me about his father was true, no was not going to be an easy answer to swallow for him. He got up from his chair and was beginning to leave my office, but I had one more thing to say to him.

"Hey, Nikolai," I called for him and he stopped just before going out of sight, "if you're going to need help I'm here for ya."

"Thanks Dempsey, but I'd rather not bring friends into this mess. People who get involved with the mafia never get out, even if they are thousands of light years away from them." he ended. I listened as he walked through the hallway, further and further away until I couldn't hear him anymore. I just hoped for his sake that he would do his best to stay out of it.

Now, for the other task at hand, as I flipped through the various papers, some stapled and others not. The blacked out lines that hid fatal details and federal secrets were now becoming less of an obstacle as I figured out more and more on Dr. Richtofen. Of course, there was still the fact that Rune had some vital information that we hadn't been able to discuss either and I believed that would be a real hint into just what things the government was trying to hide from everybody.

* * *

_Nikolai_

There we were, looking upon the flat lands where all the bad luck had started, dotted across it were empty Dukni pods that would detach from the land and return to space tonight. It was a custom that would hopefully give away the positions of whatever Dukni ships were in orbit. Spade had told us that the Space Forces would be watching the pods and tracking where they would end up, and when they came back to their ships they'd be blown into pieces. That would take care of our problems for a little while, until they sent more ships to plague the planet. It seemed like a never ending cycle, they hide in orbit, send a few forces, try to take footholds, fail to do so and get killed, rinse and repeat.

If only the idiots back on Earth would actually try to help out the planet maybe this place would be of actual value again, but of course that would never happen unless they found some kind of endless supply of oil or gold or something capitalistically valuable. I'd been a soldier, not to fight for them, but to fight for my people... and to get away from them in some ways. At least out here on Agria I was a little isolated from most of the other troubles of the world, and if it weren't for the Dukni trying to take this place it would be a nice place to settle down and have a family away from those troubles that plagued the Solar system so badly. Unfortunately the letter from my father was now threatening to pull me back to the one place I didn't want to go back to. If I didn't try to appeal to him in person he'd probably kidnap and bring me there himself, but I'd run the risk of getting stuck with the don job anyway.

My father was a hard-headed man, and he nearly never took no for an answer, and he knew how to weasel people into saying yes without them knowing it too. In my childhood he'd been a great con artist as well, at least in my earliest childhood, before the Menakov incident separated me from my family and forced me to become a soldier in a regiment I didn't approve of. The last time I'd seen my old man was six years ago before I left on my tour of duty and never came back to Earth, I'd settled here instead purposely to avoid his work and all the hazards involved. For the longest time I thought I was out of his mind and out of his reach, but the letter I'd received this morning proved that wrong and now I was desperate to try and hide again. It bothered me how I was always trying to run from my past, but there was just an instinct that drove me against my will to do so.

Ian had always told me how I would someday have to confront my past and fight to make it right, but there was so much that had gone wrong in my life, how would I manage to fix any of it. It was times like this when I really wished he was still with us, to help us with all these troubles that had begun to show up because of his absence.

"Sgt. Belinski." Cpl. Hunts called, interrupting my thoughts.

"What?" I turned around to address him.

"It's time to move onto the next watch point, sir." he urged. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I'd let the time slip by me.

I got into the Duneracer, with Hunts driving, and we drove onto the next point and scouted out the area there, counting the pods we saw on the ground. At the last point we counted and the numbers totaled up to twenty-two pods.

"At least it was fewer than it was the last time." I heard one of the militiamen comment. I hadn't been in Garrison when that one had happened, but from what Dempsey had told me I was glad that this one hadn't been as bad, but it also gave me an insight into just how desperate the Dukni were to take this location. Whatever advantage this place had it was so tantalizing to them that we defended it with our lives, even though we didn't know what it was.

If it was that important to them to risk a total of five invasions since the outpost's founding, it must have been worth guarding from them.

"All right, let's get back to the outpost. I'm already starting to hear my stomach growl." I ordered. I heard the militiamen chuckle and carry on, sympathizing with my statement and wasting no time in packing into the Duneracers. Once we were within sight of the outpost I could hear the clanking of metal on metal from the garage once again. Rune was inside, but what she was working on I was curious of, the Duneracers had all been fixed.

As we pulled up to the garage I saw inside the familiar, yet slightly crumpled vehicle she was working on, before she noticed us and shut the door before continuing her work without prying eyes.

_Maybe there is a chance after all._

* * *

_Takeo_

The mess hall was still quiet boisterous despite the loss of three men in yesterday's attack and many more on the military's side. I found little comfort in eating, I would have much rather been training my skills down at the Pit or at least finding a place to practice with my blade. At the sound of the mess hall doors opening some looked to see who was coming in, seeing Rune they all went back to their meals leaving her to come up to our table without anymore eyes on her. Her face was darkened with grime that hadn't been washed off completely and she hid a concealed anger in her expression. She'd been working on something in the garage, and the only thing that would have been left for her to fix in the outpost would have been her racer.

To my left Nikolai leaned a little closer to me and began to speak, being polite enough to swallow his food beforehand.

"She's working on the Grav-racer." he relayed to me.

"I can tell." I replied.

"Da, that look on her face, she may race this year."

"Perhaps, but do not count your chickens before they hatch, Russian. She may very werr decide not to go through with it at rast notice." I warned.

He scoffed and pointed at her as she was gathering food for her plate, the way she did was with aggression.

"With the way she's acting and carrying herself, I highly doubt she's going to give it up. Her mind's clearly made up." he insisted. Until I saw it otherwise I would keep my optimism at a low, but she was showing promise.

"Do you think Dr. Richtofen is going to be getting involved in helping her fix the thing?" Dempsey chimed in. Nikolai shrugged and shoveled food into his mouth, chewed and then swallowed.

"Probably, he's the only one who's been able to fix the vehicles besides her." he admitted.

"I saw the doctor in the building today and it doesn't rook rike he's going to be doing anything, anytime soon." I informed them.

"How is he looking?" Dempsey questioned.

"Very pained, but while I was in there he was still making his way through the prace, despite Dr. Maxis' protests." I answered. He nodded then took a quick glance at the three scientists who were actually in the mess hall.

"I've got a bad feeling about him."

"What something in those files you read?" Nikolai asked Dempsey.

"That, and just the weird feeling I've been getting whenever I see him. Did you notice the way he looks at people?" he inquired.

"Hai, it is unnatural. He just keeps staring, never breaking contact rike he's afraid that he'll miss something." I admitted.

"Like a predator." Nikolai muttered before getting back to his food. Just as we had ended the conversation, Rune had started taking her seat and was now tearing into her meal with a ravenous frenzy.

"Jesus, Rune take it easy. It's not like you're timed to eat." Dempsey remarked. She stopped to swallow her food and then addressed him as calmly as she could.

"I'm hungry, and I am in a hurry." she replied.

"A hurry to do what?" Nikolai asked from across the table.

"Well for one," she paused for emphasis, "I've got a motor running that could overheat at any moment."

"Well, fuck! Hurry up, I don't want that thing going off near the outpost!" Dempsey nearly yelled.

She passed a smug grin and went back to shoveling down her food and managed to eat in almost five minutes flat. She was out of the mess hall like a flash of lightning leaving the rest of us to eat, even though I was no longer in the mood to do so. I stayed there for a while, waiting to see if someone would start another conversation, but it never happened so I left for home. Along my way there, however, I heard the muffled conversation of the scientists as, they too, left the mess hall to return to their dwelling.

"I hope Dr. Maxis can get him under control." Dr. Hartlin prayed.

"Yeah, I don't want another repeat of what happened on Mars." Dr. Simons squeaked.

"I'm sure he'll manage, Dr. Richtofen does have a stronger medication now. It should be able to suppress him more easily." Dr. Groph assured.

That was all I caught before they got out of earshot of me and I started on a leisurely pace back home where I examined my family blade as I usually did when I was there. I was concerned to say the least about what the three scientists were talking about, they were obviously not welcoming to how Dr. Richtofen was acting and neither was I. After what I'd witnessed yesterday, with the doctor coming back to life, I was willing to believe that something very evil lurked within that "miracle".


	32. Puppets And Collaborators

_Maxis_

"Edward, I brought you something to eat." I called, hesitantly entering his pitch black room.

"Leave it on my desk, Dr. Maxis." he replied. He sounded a lot better than how he was a few moments ago, but I wasn't sure that was such a good thing.

"Do you need anything? Pain killers or vitalizers?" I asked.

"No, you can leave, I'll be fine." he answered calmly. It unnerved me that I couldn't see him in the room, it was so dark in there.

I left and shut the door behind me, I didn't want him getting out of the building with the way he'd been acting all day. Everyone was feeling uneasy with his recent behavior and I couldn't blame them, what happened next was usually bad for anyone involved. For now we'd have to keep him "imprisoned" in the building until I could tell for sure that he was all right.

"Dr. Maxis." I heard Simons call for me as we both encountered each other in the hallway.

"Ja, vhat is it?" I asked.

"Do we need to keep the tranquilizers at hand, you know... with the way Dr. Richtofen is right now."

I waved away his suggestion having already thought of a solution to the problem of getting him to sleep.

"It's fine, I put sleeping agents in his food. He should be asleep in a few more minutes." I assured him.

"Oh, that's a relief." he sighed.

"It is, now get back to your work, Seymour." I ushered him. We both went our separate ways as I began to approach the room where Groph was working on pinpointing the source of the radiation we'd found nearly a week back.

"How are things going in here?" I asked as soon as I got in.

"Still no real breakthroughs, I haven't been able to find any complete trails. They all just seem to die out the further north you go." he reported.

"Nothing even remotely promising?"

"No, I'm afraid."

"Verdammt... Just keep searching, I'm sure ve'll find something." I encouraged.

"Yes, Dr. Maxis."

I left there disappointed and had no one else to check up on, Richtofen was well into sleep now if my calculations were correct. Maybe I could call Samantha and see how she was doing, I hadn't heard from her in a long time. I made a beeline to my office and picked up the phone quickly dialing the number to the Berlin University of Applied Sciences.

"Hello?" a young college operator responded.

"Yes, Samantha Maxis' room please." I requested.

"Just a minute, sir." she replied and I heard the line go quite for a second and then pick back up.

The phone rang for a good four goes, but no one was picking up and my heart sank inside my chest. Perhaps she wasn't at her room, maybe she was out studying for her spring finals, she always wanted to do her best on all of her tests. After the seventh tone I hung up the phone and didn't feel like calling again just to leave a message, she was probably already stressed enough as it was. I also didn't have the heart to leave her a message, I would probably end up crying at the end of it. I missed her so much, but I knew she was safe and that she was doing well on her own and in her studies.

As the night creeped on my will to stay awake had slowly dwindled, with all the worry and stress of the day upon me it was that much more harder to resist the urge to sleep, so despite all my earlier attempts I finally gave in. I turned off my computer and locked my office before heading down into the bedroom hallway, I checked to make sure that Richtofen's door was locked both inside and out. The door wouldn't budge which was satisfying enough to let my drowsy mind not worry about the matter further, besides he wouldn't be waking up until early tomorrow morning. I tried to make myself comfortable enough to fall asleep, but when I laid down to try and rest I felt an ominous feeling gnawing at the back of my head. I let the feeling subside after a while and finally feel into a fitful slumber, for about an hour before waking to the sound of hurried footsteps and an urgent knocking at my bedroom door. I quickly got up to see what the commotion was all about, at first I thought it was a fire in the building, but as I opened the door the extremely worried look on Groph's face assured me that it was worse than a fire.

"It's Dr. Richtofen... he's gone!" he exclaimed.

* * *

_Rune_

I stopped to admire the work I'd put into my Grav-racer so far, it was already starting to look like it's old self again. I was actually proud of it once again, the feeling made me think of how I would get started for the races again. Surely I'd have to practice, but the first races of the season were starting in two weeks and that was hardly enough time to get ready. I'd have to spend a month getting used to racing again after being away for so long, but I'd pulled bigger miracles off before, perhaps two weeks would be enough time to settle in. For now, though, it was time to turn in for the night, I'd have morning patrol tomorrow and I didn't want to be tired for that.

After all the tools and scattered parts were put away in their respective places I got to washing my grease covered hands and face, but as I did I felt an unwelcome stare coming from the door. I discreetly turned my attention to the intruder who was none other than Dr. Richtofen himself, he didn't look as miserable as he was earlier today and he actually had changed into less damaged clothing. That made me feel a bit better, but what was he doing outside the building, after what I'd witnessed today he should have been in bed rest or something and not up moving around.

"Hey Richtofen, feeling better now?" I asked casually as I turned off the water.

"Ja, much better." he replied with an equally casual tone.

"Good to hear, so when do you think you'll be back on militia duty?" I continued.

"Perhaps ze day after tomorrow, Maxis hasn't said yet."

"Judging by your sudden recovery I would think you'd be able to come back tomorrow."

"Maxis vants to make sure I'm fine before he let's me do anything else."

"He's definitely the worrying type isn't he."

"Indeed."

I took a look back at the Grav-racer and then went back to Richtofen.

"So, do you think you'd be able to lend me a hand with the racer?" I asked.

"I don't know, vould you allow me to vork on it. It does look extremely valuable to you." he replied cautiously.

"Sure, you're the only other person who could possibly help me out with it." I remarked.

"Zhat's true..."

"So will you do it?"

"Most likely, if Maxis vill let me zhat is."

I scoffed, why was he so dependent on what Dr. Maxis said now, he hadn't seem to care before. I only turned around for a moment to get a look at my trophies from years past and when I went to look at Richtofen again he was almost standing right above me. I fell backwards a little bit, but then regained my footing.

"Holy shit, you could have told me you were coming over. Damn." I breathed humorously. He was staring at me with an unnatural glint in his eyes, come to mention it his eyes did seem a bit more, bright, you could say. They were definitely different, and the way his pupils were dilated so deviously, it didn't help that they were slit pupils as well.

He was giving me the look that a predator does when he comes in for the kill, that split second moment when his prey knows it's done for and he knows he's got his next meal... or his next victim.

"I can now see vhy Edward finds you so attractive." he remarked almost inaudibly.

"Excuse me?!" I declared, not really taking offense at the comment, but I sure as hell wasn't going to just let that slide by unnoticed. He didn't even retract his statement, I would have slapped him right then and there, but I decided that would be a little too drastic.

"Ah yes, a truly beautiful specimen of an Agrian human. Ze skin is not too tan, but not too pale, almost a sandy peach coloration. Und ze hair..." he started listing off, his tone of voice was very different from what I'd been accustomed to.

Now I was aware that he was actually making an effort to come closer to me, like he was trying to herd me somewhere.

"Listen, I don't know what's come over you, but I'd rather not go there. I don't know you that well and I'm pretty sure Dempsey or Nikolai would kill you if you ever did get that close to me." I warned. He didn't seem fazed by my threat, he just kept trying to slowly corner me and I wasn't going to stand for it much longer. I tried to put some space between myself and him, but he just kept coming at me, it was rather slowly, but he was able to close the distance nonetheless.

I was able to sneak box-cutter into my hand and keep it concealed behind me before he was able to actually pin me to one spot. My back was to the wall, where above me were some of my first racing awards. He still had that predatory glare in his eyes, and he was ready to strike and take his next victim.

"I'd drop ze box-cutters if I vere you..." he warned calmly.

"Like hell I will." I growled before attempting to send them right into his arm. He caught my arm mid-thrust and held it there with a newly revealed strength, and his eyes were still focused on mine entirely.

"I varned you." he growled before twisting my arm, not enough to break it, but enough to make me drop the box-cutters.

"Agh! What the hell are you doing?!" I demanded. He kept my arm in his grasp, but pushed me against the wall like he was hell-bent on pushing me through the damn thing. Richtofen had the audacity to fucking smile, and it wasn't a nice kind of smile, it was the kind of smile you saw on a sadist with a taste for...

"Richtofen!" Dr. Maxis' fierce voice shouted from the doorway, filling the entire garage.

That vicious smile faded from his face instantly and he let his attention go to his superior, but he still kept me pinned to the wall.

"Vhat do you vant? Can't you see zhat I'm a little busy." he snarled.

"Let her go Richtofen." Maxis demanded unhappily. There was a stalemate that was cloaked in silence from both sides, but eventually Dr. Richtofen gave in and let go of me. I darted as far away from him as I could, dashing past Dr. Maxis and only stopping to turn and see the two when I knew I was safe from Richtofen.

"Since you're here I'll let you stay, so long as you keep to ze building. If you so much as take a single step outside I'll get rid of you, got it." Maxis warned harshly. Dr. Richtofen stared at him with an displeased expression, but eventually nodded in acceptance.

"Very vell Maxis, I'll agree to your terms, but don't think I von't try to keep you on your toes." he warned.

"Then go back to ze building, I don't vant to see you out here again." Maxis ordered. Richtofen submitted and began to walk casually back inside the outpost, but not without taking a quick glance at me with the those predator eyes again.

Dr. Maxis started to approach me and look me over with a concerned expression.

"He didn't hurt you did he?" he asked.

"No, I'm fine." I answered.

"I severely apologize for his actions, please forgive him as he's... not sound of mind right now."

"Whatever, but if he does that to me again he's getting a kick in the balls." I hissed.

"I vouldn't have minded if you'd done so anyvay." Maxis admitted before leaving.

I rubbed the arm that Richtofen had twisted and made sure there wasn't a bruise somewhere, thankfully there wasn't. I was honestly scared back there, I wasn't sure I would have been able to take him had Maxis not intervened when he did. My stomach felt sick and my mind felt tingly as I tried to get the notion out of my head that Richtofen could have very well had his way with me right then and there. Now I had something more to be paranoid about of the man and it would haunt me for a while. Of course being the only woman around for many years, until Natalie Hartlin came in I'd already been approached with such situations, but the one I'd just encountered was different.

Richtofen was someone who could have bested me in any kind of fight, regardless of how much I struggled. The other men I'd fought off had either been sent to hospital with, virtually the same battle "wound", or had understood and never really spoke to me again. That was only because I knew how to counter them because my father taught them everything they knew, but with the doctor he could know some tricks that I didn't. Either way I felt ashamed of myself, to let him come that close to me, I should have known better, but deep inside I had the feeling that it wasn't his fault. I didn't understand why, but I just did, like it really wasn't him in that scenario, but rather something was puppeteer-ing him that whole time.

I was done thinking about it any longer and went straight to the barracks to take a shower and hopefully get the feeling out of my head. I felt so violated, and he hadn't even gotten to do anything to me.

* * *

_?(Alias: Da'ki'lo)_

"So, Elder Matak has fallen, yes?" questioned the hooded Dukni atop the large purple draped throne.

"Yes, sir, and it appears that Paladin Krolok has turned traitor as well." reported a Go'ni'za dressed in formal armor that glowed with faint green Dukni pictographs.

"I see, it was only a matter of time. It was in Matak's fate to be killed at the hands of a human, and it was Krolok's to join the humans in their pathetic effort to defend the planet from us." the hooded Dukni spoke again.

"Perhaps the Du'na has grown stronger since his escape?" the Go'ni'za suggested.

"Yes, it would seem so, but I have no intentions of letting him grow any stronger."

"How do you plan to accomplish that?" I questioned through the hologram.

"Simple Da'ki'lo," the hood addressed me, "we send the very best to kill him. Matak was already doomed to die of old age anyway, but an true killer should do the trick."

"Who do you plan on sending?" the Go'ni'za asked. The hood chuckled darkly and at his side a dark purple skinned Pe'li'mi formed from the thin air.

"Suhass should be enough to truly kill the Du'na. Isn't that right?" the hood asked the Pe'li'mi at his side.

"The human won't stand a chance against my blades." Suhass hissed murderously.

"Then let us not waste time. Da'ki'lo!" the hood addressed me again.

"Yes sir."

"Make sure Suhass gets to Agria undetected. He can handle the rest once he gets there."

"I'll make use of the finest Terran stealth tech." I assured him.

"Good, make it so." the hood said before I saw the Pe'li'mi begin to leave the expansive chamber.

My hologram in the chamber was switched off and I was now peering into another room where Suhass was waiting patiently for me to teleport him to my location.

"I'm ready human, make this quick." he urged. To my right side I flipped the switch to start the machine and then I made sure it was locked onto him before I pressed the final button and his physical form disappeared in the room. There was a five second delay before the Pe'li'mi reappeared into the mainframe at my actual location. He stood for a moment regaining his bearing and then attempting to speak.

"If only we could utilize this technology as well as you humans do, we could have managed to win the war." he remarked.

I only chuckled, even if I was a collaborator I just used the materials I had at hand, I didn't know how they worked on the inside. I was good for getting them where they needed to go and telling them what they needed to know.

"How soon will I be on Agria?" Suhass questioned.

"In a week or so." I answered.

"What?! I thought it'd be sooner than that... no matter. That just gives me time to hone my killing skills until then."

"You'd be right to do so. The Du'na is no easy target, many of your kind have fallen to him."

The Pe'li'mi cursed in his native tongue directing it at the Du'na.

"Then I will end his streak." he declared viciously.


	33. A Trip Back Home

_Dempsey_**  
**

There wasn't much to the next three days, without a single sight of Dr. Richtofen things were a lot more complacent than they ever were. Patrols went without anything to report, it looked as though the Dukni had lost the nerve to attack after their horrible loss with the invasion. I doubted that they would just stop sending troops down, it was only a matter of time until they'd start coming back, until then we just kept running the routine. The Swarmers had come back after being gone for more than a week so they kept us occupied in the absence of the Dukni. With their aggressiveness peaking in this time of year we had to keep an eye out for them especially when the scientists wanted to some field work.

I was pleased to see that Rune had been working on her Grav-racer, she still wasn't finished yet, there were some parts that needed replaced before she could safely operate it. It was good to know that she'd be racing this year, but for how long she didn't say. I was hoping that she'd finally go for her dream of winning a Trinity Cup, that had been her goal in Grav-racing since she was old enough to drive a racer. Ian had been adamant on getting her to win, when he was around he'd help her fix her racer and tune things up when they had down time and whenever he was in Garrison. Without his help though, she'd been making progress relatively more slowly than she would have done if he were with her.

There had been times when I was tempted to go and ask Richtofen and see if he would help her, but I'd decided against it. He hadn't been seen outside the building since the night he'd got back from the hospital and I doubted he'd want to help. Dr. Maxis kept saying that he wasn't feeling right and I was apt to believe him, with all the others telling me how sick and loopy he'd been. However, I wouldn't be fooled by such a simple charade, I knew enough of the truth to know that Dr. Richtofen was actually fine physically, but mentally he was very unwell. With Rune's help we'd both managed to get our hands on some fine pieces of information that dealt with Richtofen's "ailment".

It turned out that the doctor wasn't sick at all, he had what the documents had described as an alternate personality disorder. That's what part of his medication was for, that and treating his schizophrenia along with it. Despite the multitude of pages we'd found on the subject many of the key parts of information were blacked out or blank, others we just couldn't rely on. It was clear now that Dr. Richtofen was being kept away from the outside world because he was experiencing this disorder currently, and judging on how his colleagues had been so adamant on making sure he had his medication I concluded that the alternate personality wasn't very friendly. That or it wasn't at all good company to keep as many times I saw almost alien eyes staring out of the windows to the 935 building which I immediately pinned down to belonging to Richtofen.

"Dempsey." Nikolai called for me while I was on the wall.

"What?" I replied, turning and looking down to see him.

"I need to talk to you for a moment."

"Right, just give me a second."

I grabbed the attention off the man to my left and then climbed down the ladder and planted my feet onto the ground.

"What do you need?" I asked.

There was that expression on his face again, the same one he'd had when he'd gotten the letter from his father three days ago.

"I got a call last night," he started, "it was from my mother and she says that father isn't doing so well."

"Why, what's wrong with him?" I changed my tone from casual to concerned. He hung his head and took removed his goggles with a reverent motion.

"He had a heart attack yesterday and the doctor's say that he's not going to make it much longer. The only way he's staying alive is through the machinery they've got attached to him in the hospital." he explained grimly.

I didn't want to sound rude, but I had to know if he was sure the news was true.

"Are you sure that he's really had a heart attack?" I questioned carefully.

"I'm sure, I got the live feed early this morning and I checked all the records at the hospital before I came to tell you." he assured me.

"Jesus, I'm sorry to hear that Nikolai." I breathed.

"I was thinking about going back to Earth to see him." he entered abruptly.

"But, Nikolai you know that if you go back to Russia you might very well be hunted down by the other mafia clans." I protested.

He stared at me, his eyes reflecting the reluctance in himself to go through with it.

"I know Tank, but I he's my father and he's dying. I want to be there in his last moments, so I can make up for all the time I was away."

I sighed heavily, this was a rare side to Nikolai and it was a side that usually got him into unintended trouble, but his father was dying and I didn't want to keep him from paying the proper respect to him.

"When do you want to go?" I asked him reluctantly.

"If I can start today I would be most appreciative." he answered.

I nodded slowly and looked at the barracks, thinking about how I would book him a flight to Earth.

"I'll call up Gen. Spade when my shift's up and see what we can do for ya. Okay?"

"Da, that would be fine." he replied putting his goggles back on his head and going back to the barracks. I didn't have the heart to say no, against my better judgement I just couldn't muster up the courage to deny him a visit to his father. I just had to trust that he'd be okay in Russia and come back unharmed and unaffiliated. I climbed back up the ladder and took my post again, watching as the small dots of distant Swarmers passed to and fro from den to den.

My shift was over at noon and I headed to my office, catching a glimpse of Nikolai as he went to his room. I picked up the phone and dialed Spade's personal number and waited for him to pick up, he did so quickly catching me a little off guard.

"Hello?" he picked up in his husky voice.

"General Spade." I replied.

"Dempsey, how are you doing?" he asked generously.

"I'm doing fine. Hey listen, could you perhaps pull through on a favor I have to ask of you?" I got straight to the point.

There was a slight pause, but he replied nonetheless.

"Depends, what's the favor?" he questioned.

"It's for Nikolai you see, his dad recently had a heart attack and the doctor's are saying that he's not going to make it. He's wanting to go to Earth to see him before he dies." I explained.

"Oh, I see," he said with understanding, "if a ride to Earth is what he needs I can get him there."

"Thank you General." I breathed in relief.

"No problem Dempsey, now where's he headed to on Earth?" Spade inquired.

I had to take a minute to remember where his family lived in Russia, a few cities popped into my head along with a lot of other towns Nikolai had mentioned over the years.

"Tver, Russia." I finally answered.

"Russia?" he remarked surprised, "All right then, Tver, Russia it is. Now when does he need to go?"

"He says if he can go today he will."

"Okay then, tell him his ride will be waiting for him here."

"Thank you sir."

"No problem Dempsey, just remember you've owe me a favor in return." he warned.

"Of course, sir. I'll see you there." I ended.

"I'll be waiting then." he finished hanging up first.

* * *

_Nikolai_

Tank and I were in the Duneracer after lunch and were ready to head for the military base where I'd be taking off from. I didn't bring much with me, only three changes of clothes, some basic hygiene things and of course I brought a small pistol no matter where I went. It was all enough to fit into one suitcase that I only used for special occasions such as this.

"You ready?" Dempsey asked me as I took a glance back at the outpost.

"Da, let's get going." I answered. He started up the Duneracer and we took the start of the long route and took the branching path that led to the base.

I hadn't been in Russia for a very long time, I was curious about what had changed in my home town, but then again I wasn't. My life as a child wasn't filled with the best of memories, especially since my father was the don of one of the most powerful mafias east of the Ural Mountains. Once, when I was six, I had my first encounter with a drive-by shooting that killed one of my father's best men who was taking me home from school that day. It wasn't until a year later that my father found the clan who'd killed him and made an example out of them in the streets one summer day. My memories of that life only went so far as when I was eleven, on my twelfth birthday I was taken away by Menakov's police and forced to be melded into a soldier to fuel his maniacal dream for a Russian dominated world.

I wish I had some vodka to drink before I left, but I was still banned from drinking so I knew that the trip there was going to be miserable. I'd be remembering all the horrible things that occurred in my life without someway of making them go away. Damn, I wish I could have just one bottle, just to ease my nerves a bit. Before I knew it we were already up at the gates to the base and now being let in by the MPs guarding the them. Right as we pulled in I could see the ship that would be taking me to Earth and standing near it was Gen. Spade.

Tank and I both got out of the Duneracer to meet him and he shook our hands and gave me a nod.

"Glad to see you here," he started and then gestured to the ship behind him, "well this is your ride, how do you like it?"

"If it'll get me to Russia and back I like it." I replied not meaning to sound harsh, but it looked like he took offense to my answer.

"I take it you'll want to leave now?" he asked.

"Da, let's get this thing going, the quicker I get there and back the better." I said before heading to the craft.

"Hey, Nikolai!" I heard Dempsey call, I turned around to see him and waited for what he had to say.

"What is it?!"

"You be safe in Russia, all right?"

"I will be, if not I'll at least get back in one piece!" I replied. As soon as I got strapped in the ship started to power up and we were starting down the run way. I watched out the window as the black pavement sped by and then got further away as the ship rose into the air.

I looked out onto the blasted lands below me, there was nothing but wasteland for miles around, but I wouldn't have to look at it for too long though. I could feel the G-forces picking up as the ship climbed further and further up into the atmosphere and the ground below became less detailed and gave way to the sparse clouds that lingered above. The clouds eventually gave way to the darkening of low orbit and the G-forces continued to increase until they suddenly relented. Low orbit had changed into the vast expanse of space and behind the ship was the sunlit hemisphere of Agria giving off light that it reflected from Vega.

"Talon-8 has successfully broken Agria's atmosphere, preparing for warp drive, destination Earth." the pilot over in the cockpit recited and he and the co-pilot began to fiddle with the numerous buttons set around them.

"Engaging warp drive in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Engaging." the pilot announced before slowly pulling on the lever that would take activate the craft's negative energy drive. It's hard to describe what it feels like to travel in warp with negative energy, but the concept is simple enough. You basically bring your destination to you instead of you rushing to your destination, the only downside is you could end up joined in something else's mass and thus becoming... well nothing. It isn't instantaneous travel, however, it takes time and it also take coordination. Other ships using negative energy to travel have to be aware of who is where at all times to avoid a collision of matter in which both colliding ships would become meshed together and thus killing anyone aboard them.

The chances of collisions were low seeing as only the best of the best were allowed to pilot space crafts, but the times it had happened were usually minimal in casualties. They only appeared, so far, in smaller ships that had been harder to track on negative space radars, but that didn't mean it couldn't happen to a larger ship. The window outside only revealed the passing of billions of stars that looked like they were being stretched upon each other. It was like being in a tunnel of white streaks that shifted and shimmered as long as you stayed in warp. I'd only get to see it for another four hours before we reached the Solar system.


	34. Aliens Have Families Too

_Takeo_

It was a very quiet night, eerily still as though time had stopped for us, but despite the peace of the outside world, I was not at peace. That terrible feeling had welled up inside of me again, the same one that had started when I first encountered Dr. Richtofen, but this time it was worse. Even though he hadn't been outside of the 935 building in a long while I feared that at any moment something horrible would be done by his hand. The reasons for his temporary imprisonment were not consistent from Dr. Maxis, at first he'd claimed that Dr. Richtofen was still not feeling well, and then he went on to say how he was busy with research. If he was not well why was he still partaking in research, the way he'd said it made me think that it was almost a terminal illness. The truth was not being told on his part, and it was a terrible truth for sure otherwise he would not have pained so much to keep it hidden.

It was that night when I was walking through the outpost, trying to ease my nerves with the nocturnal serenity that I saw him for the first time in three days. He was standing right outside the doorway to the building and was static, un-moving in a most odd fashion. I halted my progress through the outpost to watch him, I was curious as to what he was doing outside after being locked up in the building by his superior. He shouldn't have even been outside, but I wanted to see just why Dr. Maxis was so caught up with keeping away from the rest of us. Just then he began to come to life, his head scanning his surroundings, surely he noticed me, but he did not stop to look at me. He started a slow stroll to the gate as though he had business outside of the walls, but he gazed at the gate for a time and then walked away.

He was searching for something, for what I did not know, but with that feeling taking over I assumed it was not something that would be beneficial to anyone. I followed him slowly, trying to be discrete but I was sure he knew I was doing so, he just never addressed me. He would stop at some spots in the outpost, outside the barracks, near the storage, and he even looked into the windows to the shelter (that doubled as a bar when needed). After he'd passed by the shelter I could hear him whispering to himself, it was inaudible, but he sounded rushed as though he were racing against the clock to find what he was looking for. His whispers stopped abruptly and my heart seized, I thought for sure he was going to start after me, but he did not.

Richtofen was now staring up at the wall, it seemed his attention was now fixed on the militia that were patrolling atop it. By instinct I had my hand on the handle of my katana, ready to wield it in case he were to try and harm them. It was a long stand off, but he did nothing which irritated me; I was half expecting to finally fight him, instead I got nothing. I was tempted to just go on about my own business, but I caught a sudden movement of his and was ready to attack once more. He'd flexed his hand, like he was trying to pop the bones of his wrist, he did so with the other and then spun his head around. I could hear the muffled popping of his bones and then utter silence afterwards.

He'd do something I knew it all too well, he was ready to do something but just what was it? Was he going to attack the militiamen, or was he just doing this to psyche me out, get me worked up over nothing just to see what I would do. My guard was up, I was ready for any possibility, ready for any kind of tactic he would use, until he did it. Richtofen literally jumped the wall, he cleared the ten foot wall in a single jump... I was utterly awestruck at the concept. He'd even managed to do it so that the men on the wall didn't even catch a glimpse of the inhuman feat that had just occurred only four feet above them. I was quick to recover from the awe, but I was not ready to report this to Dr. Maxis or Dempsey; I was still curious about his intentions and what it was he was doing exactly.

I ran back around to the north gate and hurried outside where I saw the speeding silhouette of the doctor running off towards the Pit. There were so many questions that were floating in my mind, but I had to focus on the task I was trying to acheive. I had to refrain from using a Duneracer to chase him, that would raise suspicion, not only to Dr. Richtofen, but to the militia as well. I decided to follow him on foot, but I only barely managed to keep up with him most of the time, he was incredibly quick on his feet, a trait I had noticed when he was combating the Tyrant during the invasion. The entire time I was following him to the Pit he was going out of his way to try and knock me off his tail, jumping from boulder to boulder in a confusing fashion, sometimes even looping around to try and lose me. I would not be easily deterred from my self-appointed mission and he finally gave that up a third of the way to the Pit.

He'd given a thorough chase, but I still managed to make it with him and yet he was still refusing to try and converse with me. The only sign I got of him acknowledging my presence was when he was at the edge of the Pit's opening and had glanced at me with a satisfied stare. We were stuck like that for a while until I saw a smirk crawl upon his face and he stepped forward causing him to fall into the Pit. My heart stopped immediately and I quickly went to the edge to see him falling down into the several hundred foot deep quarry. His fall was on purpose as his descent was almost masterful, he was plummeting down with an unwavering resolve that kept him in a dive. He was only a small figure when I could see that he was nearing the bottom, and it came to me; How would he survive the fall?

I was ready to shout at him, but it would have probably gone in vain anyway, I was powerless to stop what I knew was going to happen. I was prepared to see him turn into a mess of splattered organs and bones, but what I was not prepared for was the omission of just what I was ready to see. There was a pause in everything, there was no sound, no breathing from me, not even a heartbeat; then there was sound... an incredibly low hum followed by a shock wave that sent me away from the edge and onto my back. When I recovered I could see around me, at the top of the Pit, the sand had moved away and small rocks had also followed suit. The shock wave was not sound orientated though, the low hum had kept at a low volume that probably would have lulled a small child to sleep had it gone on long enough.

That did not mean I was finished with this mission, I started down the rocky spiral ramp to see just what was at the bottom as I could no longer perceive him clearly. It was almost an hour long run down the expanse of the ramp, but when I arrived at the bottom there he was. Richtofen was completely unharmed and poised in a position reminiscent of a shinobi of my culture. Just as he had started his journey to this point, he was now motionless, only the small contractions and expansions of his being assured me he was breathing and thus alive.

"Stick around long enough my Manjurian friend, und I may just teach you how to accomplish similar feats." he spoke clearly.

His speech startled me, almost, I had not expected after that kind of fall he would be willing to speak, but he had. Slowly, Richtofen rose from the ground and stood triumphantly having survived the several hundred foot drop without a single injury. He stared at me with an expectant look, he was ready for me to say something, but I refrained from saying anything.

"Ve should return to ze outpost now. Zhey may be vorried zhat ve are gone." he suggested, already starting back up the ramp, but this time he was leisurely walking his way back. He should have been dead, no person could survive that kind of fall.

Just what had happened that saved him from dying this time, was there some kind of science behind it? Maybe, but I thought back to what he'd said about the others being worried and I no longer thought of it. I was now on a mission to return to the outpost and I was ready to tell Dempsey what I'd just witnessed. I just had to hope that he would believe me.

* * *

_Krolok_

An intriguing sound graced my ears as I sat in my "room" in the human's military base, it was odd, like I'd heard it before, but I couldn't place the correct origins. The humans in this place wouldn't be able to pick it up, it was far too low for their hearing, but perfectly audible to me. After a few minutes delay a small shock wave rumbled by and I could hear the humans outside of my room discussing it. It was no earthquake that was for sure, but they probably wouldn't know until they delved deeper into the matter. The fact was that the shock wave was in no ways a natural event, it was a deliberate attempt by something, or someone. As I expected the General came into my room hoping to get an explanation from me.

"Was that some kind of Dukni mothership landing?" he asked immediately upon entering.

"No, if it were you would have more than just one shock wave." I deduced.

"Is it anything Dukni?"

"No, it is not Dukni, but it is not a natural phenomenon either."

"Then do you know what it is?"

"I do not."

He ran one of his huge hands atop his clean shaven head and then whispered something to one of the other humans and they took off somewhere.

"Any ideas?" he questioned.

"It may have been a Tu'Na'Ta'Ka." I replied.

"A what?"

"A Reaper as you know it." I clarified.

"If it were a Reaper we would have picked it up on one of the radars."

"Then I've no idea."

The General looked a bit angry at his inability to find out the origins of the shock wave, and the sound I'd heard.

"Sir!" another human called.

"Yes, what is it?" he asked him.

"We've found the source of the shock wave."

"Where?"

"A location a few miles outside of Garrison."

"The Pit?"

"I believe so sir."

So it had come from the one place that I had once approached as an enemy and defended as a temporary ally.

"So it is from Garrison... Interesting." I mumbled to myself.

"Why is it so interesting?" the General asked, eager to get a straight answer from me.

"I'm just stating that it's interesting, I meant nothing more of it."

"If you come up with anymore ideas for what the hell it was you call me on the intercom." he ordered before taking his leave to attend to other matters. Now with the information that it had come from outside of Garrison I could eliminate many more possibilities, now there were only two.

Either there was an explosion of a massive sort, which I highly doubted, or the Du'na was practicing his falling techniques. The Du'na, I had never seen him until the invasion when he'd stepped forward to challenge Elder Matak. In all honesty I was expecting a much more, larger human to fit the title, but instead he was rather small and almost meager looking, but the way he managed to kill Matak, it had made me reconsider. Most Dukni were well acquainted with the story of the Du'na and how he'd managed to kill a Commander on-board one of the most secure prison ships in all of Dukni history. Unlike most Dukni who utterly despised the human, I was odd and decided to admire him, a human who was able to kill a Commander with such poor conditions was truly worthy of admiration from his enemy.

As I thought about things for a moment I began to think about my status with the humans now, seeing as I had helped them defend against an invasion attempt from my own kind. That had been conditional though, the force was all made of inferior clones, they had not been real Dukni therefore I had no reason not to reject killing them. That being said, since I had agreed to fight with them then they were sure to ask when another attack comes with real Dukni, the question was, would I really become a true traitor to my people? The question would now vex me for a long time, and the answer would probably come very late into my time on Agria, however much I had left of it until the humans decided to kill me. At least staying here on Agria meant that my superiors would not put my family's lives on the line, so long as I remained in enemy hands they would not touch them.

Unfortunately I could not look upon my family, the humans had confiscated all of my belongings when I was captured. I would probably never see their pictures again, but I could remember from my mind what they all looked like. My mother, a thin, jade skinned priestess who always wore the mark of Ki'la on her forehead. My sister, though normal in physique she was, by Dukni standards, very attractive; she was maroon skinned like father and had rounder features than most Ki'la'zi females. My brother, who was younger than I was, had a darker shade of jade than I did, but he was less bulky and he wasn't a soldier, rather, he was a lorekeeper.

I did not think of my father often as I had never really gotten to see him much in my life before he was killed in a battle on the human planet of Genesis. From what I had remembered and what I'd been told from mother he was a very large maroon skinned Ki'la'zi who had 1/16th Go'ni'za in him. He was a very aggressive Dukni, but he was fair and just in his anger, never once did he try to hurt us on purpose, but when it came to discipline he would give it out freely. My mother frequently told me that I acted like him a lot, in the fair and just respect and not so much in aggression which she'd constantly said was a good thing.

"Ho'ss." I hissed to myself.

I shouldn't have been thinking about them so much, I would turn soft for the humans if I kept doing that. Just because I had fought for them did not mean I was "friendly" towards them, I still considered them my enemies, but for now I was a captive, willing, but captive nonetheless. The only human I respected here was the General, but only slightly, he was still a high ranking human which meant that if I _could_ kill him I may have been safe to return to the others, but it was highly unlikely that I'd do so anyway. If I went back I'd have to go right back to having to fight along side those soulless abominations, something I wanted to avoid at all costs.


	35. Pain and Humor

_Maxis_

"Date: June 26th, 2095." I began the video recording, "During our time here in ze Serna Highlands ve have obtained various tissue samples of Alteratur Habeant Lupus, more commonly known on zhis planet as ze Swarmer. As of 24:35 Agrian Western time Dr. Groph, Dr. Schuster, und I vill be performing various tests on zhese tissue samples in an effort to better understand ze mutations of zhese creatures from ze Dukni und hopefully contribute to a mutation cure for similar creatures on ze planet."

I looked to Groph and Schuster, they both nodded to me having set up the separate testing room for the experiment.  
"Our first test vill be on a 10 kilogram skin tissue sample, extracted from a male adult's right hind leg," I moved the camera to a better vantage point so that it was able to see the sample in the room, "as you can see ze skin is very chitinous in several areas and in others it is not und resembles animal hide."

I continued to move the camera around until I found a suitable place for it to record the majority of the test before going over to assist Groph and Schuster with the last minute details. As soon as everything was checked and ready to go I returned to face the camera and began to explain the purpose of the experiment.

"Vith our recent DNA testing on ze various samples ve have determined a list of possible mutation cures, zhis experiment vill demonstrate the possible effectiveness of each of zhese cures." I explained and then addressed Schuster. "Dr. Schuster if you vould, please begin preparing for ze administration."

"Yes, Dr. Maxis." he responded expertly.

As he was dressing into the hazmat suit Groph and I continued to check the conditions inside the room where the sample was being held. Just as we were about to get underway the experiment was interrupted, much to my displeasure. There was a knock on the door which startled the lot of us.

"Continue with ze test, I'll see who's at ze door." I ordered.

"Yes, Dr. Maxis." Groph replied still checking the room's status and waiting for Schuster to finish putting on the suit.

I opened the door and saw that both Sgt. Dempsey and Cpt. Masaki were standing outside; Dempsey seemed very irate, while Takeo was neutral in all respects.

"I thought you said he had to be kept inside the building?" Sgt. Dempsey began harshly.

"Who?" I asked, not quite sure who he meant.

"Dr. Richtofen." he growled.

"Vhat do you mean, he is inside ze building, he hasn't left in three days." I retorted.

"Oh really, well it just so happens that Takeo here saw him outside just a few hours ago."

I was shocked to hear this, I'd just checked on him two hours ago and he was in his room fiddling around with his Tesla Rifle, I was certain he hadn't left.

"If he had left I vould have known, I saw him in his room two hours ago, I even checked on him just ten minutes before I even started zhis experiment. Just how long ago did Capt. Masaki see him?" I defended.

"It was about three hours ago." Dempsey answered. I let a heavy sigh and left the room to talk to them without our conversation picking up on the camera inside.

"Vhat vas he doing zhen?" I questioned.

Sgt. Dempsey allowed Capt. Masaki to say his piece so that I would get the actual story.

"I followed him around once I saw him outside, and for a while he was doing nothing, that was until he stopped at the southwestern part of the warr."

"Ja, und zhen vhat, did he hurt anybody?"

"No, he jumped the warr in a single leap, very unusual feat for a normal person." he continued.

"Und vhat else? Surely zhat can't be all you saw."

"It was not, I continued my pursuit arr the way down to the Pit and when he got there he jumped straight down into it and landed at the bottom, without a single injury."

That would explain the tremor I felt earlier, which I had thought was just a small earthquake until now.

"So is zhat all he did?" I inquired, getting annoyed that this was taking away precious time that could be used on the experiment.

"Hai, but you specifically told us that he was not supposed to be outside of the buirding." he reiterated.

"Ja, I did say zhat..." I sighed, "vhat do you vant me to do about it?"

Dempsey stepped forward, still displeased and even more so now with my reaction to it all.

"Get rid of that alter ego. If you can't keep track of him I want him gone." he demanded.

I sighed again, it wasn't a simple matter as just telling him to leave, he knew when he wasn't wanted and had several safeguards to ensure that he stuck around for a while.

"I'll address it after zhis experiment, until zhen I'm sure he'll stay in ze building. He vas just going out zhere to hone his skills, he vouldn't have harmed anyone anyvay." I assured them.

"Good, he better be gone when this test of yours is over, otherwise we'll be calling the Terran government and getting him removed." he warned before leaving with Takeo following behind him.

"Great, one more headache I have to deal vith." I grumbled.

When I came back in Schuster was already on the third substance, so far all the others had been failures, there had been no notable reactions. There were still three more to go, and if the first three did not yield any results I doubted that the others would, but we continued on with the experiment nonetheless. With the last cure tested and failed Schuster came back inside the main room and confirmed the last substance's reactions.

"Six of six cures tested, no positive or negative results recorded." Groph reported.

"Very vell zhen, it seems zhat ze skin tissue is very resilient to the substances, recommend a higher concentration vith later experiments regarding skin samples." I suggested. Once Schuster was out of the hazmat suit I shut off the recording equipment having reported the experiment as a failure yielding no results.

Even though I was not really concerned with this part of our research on Agria it was still a blow to my morale. Our first real experiment had ended in failure, but there were surely many more to come, and hopefully they would go better than this one had. Now I had to attend to the matter of addressing Richtofen, a task that I was very reluctant to do. After I departed from Groph and Schuster and they went their separate ways I made my way to Richtofen's room where I saw that he was no longer attending to the Tesla Rifle. I said nothing as I came in, but his voice startled me as he spoke abruptly.

"She's an interesting one isn't she." he stated out of nowhere.

"Who is?" I asked.

He looked up from the files he was reading and smiled deviously.

"Miss Albana, she's very unusual. A modified clone of her father with a genetic retention possibly even higher than mine. Have you given any consideration on what we're going to do with her yet?" he questioned.

"No, and I don't plan on doing anything with her anytime soon." I answered.

"Why not? She would be perfect with testing the new enhancements or maybe the newest prototype nanobots."

"Because it's not my place to be calling the experiments on her."

"Then whose is it?"

"It would be Edward's job." I answered him reluctantly.

"Really now." he chuckled.

"Yes, it is _Edward's_ job, _not_ yours. You've no right to be calling the experiments, you're purpose here is just for research, remember that." I warned.

"Of course, of course. Wouldn't want to cause another rabble like back on Mars would we."

"And that reminds me; Don't think you're so slick getting out and testing those abilities!"

"Oh, did the Manjurian let it out? I'm sure you can understand my curiosity Maxis, I meant no harm to anyone. It was just so I could get a feel for this body again, Edward never lets me visit like he used to." he pleaded in a childish manner.

"That may be the case, but don't let me catch you going out again. If I find out you've been out and about one more time you're leaving. Understand?" I questioned.

"Yes, Maxis I understand, but I want to know something."

"What is it?"

"Where did he hide all of my stuff?" he asked.

I was confused about what he was asking for, I knew who he was referring to, but I had no idea what he wanted.

"What stuff?" I replied. Richtofen sighed and plopped onto the bed, annoyed at my inability to understand what he wanted to know.

"Do I really have to tell you what "stuff" I mean?" he pouted.

"Apparently so."

"Where did Edward hide all the porn?" he asked.

I had to take a moment not to start laughing in embarrassment, I covered my mouth with my hand and held onto the doorway to keep from keeling over.

"Where is it Maxis?" he insisted, his tone told me he was obviously not amused, he actually sounded very serious about it which didn't help my situation.

"He... he has a false bottom in last dresser shelf." I answered before bursting out in an immature laughter.

"Thank you. Now you might want to leave now."

"Do you need me to put a sign on the door or anything? Pfft!" I chuckled incessantly.

"No, I'm pretty sure a locked door will suffice. Now leave." he demanded.

I kept laughing all the way back to my office and even then I was still laughing. Dr. Groph came into my office wondering what was going on and when I told him he started to chuckle to, but it wasn't as long as I had gone for.

"Well, good to see you're not in bad spirits after that experiment." he stated.

"Are you kidding me? Richtofen just made my day, how could I be down about zhat, besides zhere are plenty more tests to go."

* * *

_Rune_

"Agh! God fucking damn it!" I cursed retracting my hand immediately from the piece of metal that had just clamped shut on my left hand. In my anger I kicked the underside of the racer and then examined my hand, it was bleeding, but it wasn't too bad. I would have to put some bandages on it, but it would be fine so I took out the bandages from the spare first aid kit I kept in the garage. After I cleaned it and wrapped it up I went back to work on the interior of the racer, so far most of the bad damage had been external, but with the more time I spent looking on the inside the more problems I was beginning to see. The brake lines had been badly damaged and would need to be replaced entirely, many of the engine's pistons were beyond repair along with much of the inner workings and that would need replaced, so far things were going from bad to worse on the vehicle diagnostic. This was really bad news, because Grav-racer parts were definitely not cheap, especially not the engine and the one that was inside had costed well over twenty grand back in it's heyday.

I didn't have the money to afford to replace any of the parts and I was reluctant to ask for any from people in the outpost. I liked to be self-sufficient and independent, but this was my dream on the line, and it was a dream that a lot of the people in Garrison would like to see me go through with not only because of the revenue it brought in, but because of the entertainment that came with it. I remembered the years I had raced when my father had been off fighting the Dukni that I got e-mails and calls from him after I had won a race or even lost that he would call to say how good I did regardless. I got so much support from everyone here that now I felt bad for not racing and not trying to fix the Grav-racer sooner. But there was the dilemma of affording the parts that I needed to replace now, and that would sky-rocket well into the tens of thousands of dollars, tens of thousands that I knew the outpost as a whole didn't have.

For now at least I could focus on getting the body repaired, that much I know I could do without spending a single cent, but only for so far. This thing would need a paint job afterwards and I sure as hell didn't have anymore in the garage, thanks to a really bad heat wave last summer. The splatters of multi-color spots on the walls were still there, and they would probably never come off. All the bad things aside I was still enjoying my time alone, despite the earlier incident with my hand, it gave me time to think. It was still only morning, the first patrol had left only an hour and a half ago and would be returning in about thirty minutes. A thirty minute nap would probably do me some good, I had been up since five and it was now just turning to nine o' clock.

My nap was cut short with me waking up to the sensation of someone touching my shoulder and due to the circumstances of what happened to me four days ago I immediately let my instinct take over and... let's just say someone got their crotch kicked very hard.

"Fucking hell! Dammit!" I heard Dempsey cry out in pain. I was wide awake when I started hearing the curses fly and I was trying not to laugh at the fact that I'd probably kicked hard enough to quite literally "bust his nuts".

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry Dempsey!" I apologized fervently.

"Why the fuck did you do that for?!" he asked pathetically finally starting to kneel on the ground.

"You startled me and I didn't know what else to do so I just kicked. I'm sorry."

"Fuck! If I'm out for the rest of the day because of this I'm so going to find a way to kick your ass and make it legal." he growled. I finally lost it after that and I had to take a moment to sit down and laugh about it. Despite being in apparently utter pain, Dempsey laughed a little bit too when he wasn't keeled over tending to his all-so-tender area. It was a good fifteen minutes before he dared to stand up and when he did he was obviously in agony.

"Do you need me to take over for today?" I asked, still giggling from my earlier fit.

He put up his index finger and took a second to actually reply to me.

"Yeah, that'd be great. Now if you would excuse me, I need to get some ice or something." he groaned, limping pathetically back to the outpost. I followed behind him at a slow pace and saw the looks on the men's faces that were on top of the wall.

"I accidentally kicked him in the balls." I explained and they nodded, trying not to laugh a little at him.

"You could have told them that I got an injury on my thigh." Dempsey protested.

"I didn't want to lie to them." I replied.

He shook his head as we continued to the barracks and went inside where Takeo was getting his sniper rifle ready and cast an odd glance at us.

"I kicked him in the crotch." I told him. His face contorted into an even more awkward expression and he just shook his head and went back to his rifle.

"It wasn't on purpose I hope." he spoke.

"No it wasn't he just scared me while I was taking a nap."

"Oh, werr then, be careful next time Dempsey."

"Shut up Takeo." Dempsey growled.

Once he was in his room he got to addressing me about the issues at the moment and what I needed to look out for.

"If you need anything you can come and get me." he ended, closing the door after grabbing a small bag of ice from his personal fridge. I chuckled for a little bit and then made my way outside and attended to the rest of Dempsey's rounds. I made sure the patrol made it back and the shifts were traded properly until finally finding myself at the southern gate where I saw a dust cloud being stirred up in the distance. I knew it couldn't have been the wind because there weren't any strong breezes and the fact that it was going around the plateau meant that it was obviously being caused by someone.

I went back to the north gate and watched over the wall as the dust cloud also made it's way to the north gate. When I got there I could hear the monstrous grumbling of a raucous engine and I smiled. The only person I knew who kept an old ground motorcycle around the highlands was my father's old buddy Spencer Doberman, a traditional biker. His black, skull-ornamented Harley flashed over the hill and came into view, he made a few donuts and then halted letting his engine ring out for a while before shutting the motorcycle off. He didn't wear a helmet, he had an old stylized pickelhaube and a pair of well worn goggles that struggled to be seen under his ragged mop of salt and pepper hair that draped over the sides of his equally unkempt beard.

"Well hey kid! How's it going?" he greeted, putting the kick stand out and coming to give me a hug.

We met and he embraced me in his bulky mass and we gave each other equally strong squeezes for a moment and then retracted.

"I'm fine, how about yourself?" I replied.

"I'm good, hey I heard you were thinking about racing this year." he stated excitedly.

"Yeah, I'm still working on the racer right now, it needs a few things." I told him.

"Well hey, if you need any parts you know who to talk to. So where's Tank?" he asked. I kept my laughter to myself, but a rogue smirk came up on my face.

"He's "recuperating"." I said.

"Recuperating? From what did he get hurt?"

"In a way, yeah."

"What kind of way are we talkin' about here?" he asked, lifting up his goggles and eyeing me suspiciously.

"I may have kicked him a little too hard in the nuts." I clarified. He scoffed and then laughed a little.

"Well what the hell did he do to you this time?"

"I was taking a nap and he kind of scared me so I just did what instinct told me to do." I answered.

"Oh, I see. Remind me never to wake you up when you're nappin'. Anyway, how are the others?" he questioned.

"Takeo's out on sniper duty, I told you about Dempsey, and Nikolai is attending to family issues on Earth." I listed.

"Oh, I see. What's wrong with Nikolai's folks?"

"His father had a heart attack and he's not going to make it."

"I see, well when he comes back tell him I send my regards."

I nodded my head and he took a look back at the garage.

"Mind if I check out your ride?" he asked.

"Not at all." I answered. I followed him to the garage and he opened the door and examined the racer.

"I see you've been doing some work on the body." he stated.

"Yeah, the body is salvageable, but the insides... let's just say it's pretty bad." I explained.

"Well, let me take a look."

I lifted up the hood and let him look at the damages that had been done last year.

"Damn, looks like it got torn a new one." Spencer remarked.

"Yeah, half the shit's going to need to be replaced. I can't fix the engine, and the brake lines are too damaged, plus the radiator's blown to high hell."

"I can see that. Did you check the magnetic suspension yet?" he asked.

"No not yet, but I'm more worried about this than anything else."

"Yep, it's a mess that's for sure. I'm not even sure I have all the stuff you'll need to get it back into working order. I've only got so many Grav-racer parts, and they are a bit old too." he admitted.

"That's fine, you don't have to give me anything I'm sure I could afford to buy new parts if I just sell some of the stuff I don't need." I told him.

"No, no, no, missy I insist. I don't want you going out and spendin' all that money that could go towards better things in the outpost." he urged.

"Spencer you don't have to..."

"But I will anyway, I can get the parts to ya tomorrow and I'll help ya get it all together." he offered patting me on the shoulder before closing the hood.

"All right then, so is there anything else you wanted to do or anyone you want to see before you go back to Rickston?" I asked him.

"I would go talk to Dempsey, but I think he deserves an undisturbed rest."

We left the garage and he got back onto his motorcycle and put his goggles back on.

"Well it was nice seein' ya kid. I gotta get back to the shop, I left Jimmy in charge and you know how incompetent he can be sometimes." he said before starting up the engine and taking off down the hill and circling around the plateau and heading back south. It was good seeing him again for the first time in almost six months, the last time he was here he was helping Dempsey with getting some supplies to Eisenhower. At least with his offer I knew that getting the racer up and going would be a little easier now.


	36. Sorrow and Torment

_Nikolai_

It was a huge change of scenery, going from the empty wastelands of the Serna Highlands to the bustling city of Tver, my hometown. I'd been away for a long time, but it looked as though nothing had changed, no new buildings had been erected as opposed to what I had seen in Moscow where the newest floating skyscraper had just finished completion. Tver seemed to have stayed static since I'd been gone, but what awaited me at home was sure to be different. Within the mafia, routine was something that would get you killed, a routine meant you could be analyzed, tracked, and spotted for weaknesses. My father was not one to stay static and from what I'd heard from my mother while flying over Moscow they'd actually switched hospitals within the city.

Now I had the pleasure of trying to find it, she said that it was a small clinic, an abrupt change, but father had insisted on it. He was a paranoid man too, he feared that if he'd stayed in the hospital his enemies would come in the middle of the night and kill him. From what I'd witnessed in my childhood, it was a just fear, but if he knew he was going to die anyway why prolong the suffering.

"We are here, Catherine Heart Clinic." the taxi driver announced. I handed him the cash that was already counted for and in my hand and left the car. With my suitcase in hand and a deep breath of the city air I started for the entrance.

It was a quiet clinic, very few people were inside aside from the staff that were walking around going from room to room. I approached the reception desk and waited for the receptionist to finish her call, as I did I looked around at the widely spread decor of plants and paintings.

"Can I help you sir?" she asked.

"Yes, what room is Alexei Belinski in?" I questioned.

"May I ask what relation you have to him?" she requested.

"I'm his son."

"I see. Room thirty-four in the tertiary wing." she directed.

"Thank you." I said before looking for a map with the visual directions off where to go.

I successfully navigated my way to room thirty-four and stood at the door for a while, taking my time to calm my nerves before entering. What would I say to them after nearly abandoning them and cutting them out of my life for so long? How would they even react to seeing me here, I hadn't really called ahead of time to tell them I was here. I put those thoughts aside, I would have to find out on my own. I grasped the door handle and turned it slowly, as I pushed the door open time seemed to slow down. Childhood memories were flooding into my head, all of the time I'd spent with my parents cluttered my brain and I could scarcely register that my mother was hugging me tightly.

"Nikolai, my baby. Oh, look Alexei he's here!" my mother cried with tears of joy running down her cheeks. My father, a husky man, but nonetheless a tall one, turned his head slowly to see me, several tubes ran from various parts of his body. They were attached to the multitude of machines keeping him alive, I felt pity for him, seeing such a bombastic and energetic man reduced to this.

"Nikolai..." he muttered, a small smile creeped across his face.

"Papa, I'm here."

My mother told me all of the stories and events that had been happening in my absence; Yuri Creznov, my best friend in high school had gotten married and had two daughters named Kyria and Sevenni, many of the people that I'd known from my childhood had either moved onto to much better things, gotten married and had families or they hadn't been heard from in a long time, much like myself. Many times my mother had hugged me out of the blue, holding me in her stick-like arms vigorously as though I would float away if she let go. In examining my parents I could see that time had most affected my mother, more than my father.

Her face had lost it's youthful energy and her brown eyes had gone dark with the years, worry lines were plentiful on her forehead and she had bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep over her lifetime. She looked like an affluent old woman, with her expensive jewelry draped around her and the fine clothing she wore, she could pass as an old time aristocrat if she wanted to. Her hair was streaked with gray from all the stress she had from living in a mafia lifestyle, constantly trying to be on the look out for the next hit-man and also raising me and my sister. Speaking of my sister, she'd mentioned that Nadezhda was now living on Mars with her husband and she was currently pregnant with her first child. I actually knew her husband quite well, he was one of the other kids drafted into Menakov's regiment, I'd never really gotten to know him, but I did owe him my life.

His name was Vladimir Krenski, and during our time in the strict training of the regiment he'd saved my life when there was a riot in the facility. I'd been pinned down by three guards and a fourth one had a gun ready to shot and kill me, but Vladimir had risked his life to wrestle the gun away from the guard and he'd succeeded and shot the men who were holding me down along with the guard who'd threatened to end my life. I didn't know much about him despite the deed that he did for me, but I'd told him once that I would forever be grateful for what he did. It seemed that he never wanted anything in return, whether it was because he'd forgotten about it or was just modest I didn't know.

"How have things been with you son?" my father asked in his weak voice.

"Things have been fine, we recently held off a Dukni invasion..." I began to speak but was cut off by my protective mother.

"An invasion?! Sweety are you all right? You didn't get hurt did you?" she questioned fervently.

"Mama I'm fine, it wasn't that difficult of an invasion anyway. The soldiers they sent were piss poor, they couldn't hit the broad side of a barn if they wanted to." I assured her.

"Nemi please, let the boy speak, besides since he's here he's fine." my father urged.

"Now, what else has been going on?" he ushered me to continue.

"Well, a friend of mine in the outpost is going to be racing this year."

"Really, who's the friend, and what are they racing in?" my mother questioned.

"Her name is Rune and she's a Grav-racer."

"Wait, Rune Albana?" my father asked.

"Yes, why is that name familiar or something?" I questioned him.

He chuckled a bit before continuing.

"I watched that race she was in. I lost so much money when that damn Eidolon crew knocked her out, I was really counting on her to win, but they fucked it up." he explained.

"I didn't know you watched the Grav-races." I admitted.

"There's a lot of good money to be made in betting in it, and boy did your friend ever earn me a lot of it before that incident. If I would have been inclined I would have hired someone to take out that Eidolon bastard, but I didn't really have a reason to back then, but now that I do, it's a little too late and a little too early to do so."

"She's an amazing racer, your friend is. I'm glad that she's racing again, we could use the money we get from betting and hand it to you to give to her." my mother entered.

I was surprised to see that they were so involved into Grav-racing, I'm sure Rune would be happy to hear that my parents were fans of her racing. For a while it was all happy conversations and reminiscing and then when the first silence fell upon us I knew that it was about to turn serious. My mother seemed to turn away, and my father's face became stern and silently serious.

"Son, you remember why I wanted you to come?" he asked me.

"Yes, Papa." I responded quietly.

"Good, because now that you're here I need an answer."

I was conflicted, I really didn't want to take up his work as the don of our clan, but I was right here next to him, watching the last slivers of his life drain away before my very eyes. He was staring at me expectantly, he knew that I wasn't willing to take up the job, but he was a stubborn man and he wanted me to take the offer.

"Papa... I can't..." I answered reluctantly.

"Oh, Nikolai..." I heard my mother whisper sorrowfully. My father said nothing, but his face said all the words I would need to hear, but the sound of his voice startled me when it resonated from him.

"I understand son." he said.

I was shocked to hear him say that, I'd thought he would lash out at me because I'd refused to take up the mantle, but instead he sounded so sincere.

"But I thought you wanted me to take the job?" I asked him in surprise.

"I did, but I know you more than you think. I knew you'd reject the offer, but I wanted to see if you'd be strong enough to resist the influences that your mother and I put on you. I'm happy to see that you did so." he congratulated.

"So I don't have to be the don?"

"No, you have a life all on your own, and you should live it without the constant fear of being shot in the back or being betrayed by those closest to you."

I wanted to cry, because of the unexpected turn this had taken, his understanding for me was completely out of the ordinary for me. I resisted the urge to, I still wanted to look strong in my parents' eyes and show them that I was confident in my decisions and could control my emotions. I had to know though, just what would happen to the clan if I wasn't going to take over.

"Papa, what are you going to do since I'm not going to take the job?" I questioned.

"I've thought about that and I decided that I'd have everything dissolved." he answered confidently.

"You mean, you're disbanding everything?!"

"Yes, I've realized that this country, no, this entire society would do a lot better without the likes of mafias or big intimidating figures like us in the picture. You see son, when I took over after my father I was a new breed of thinking, my father had been one of those men you saw in those criminal TV shows. He wanted it all, money, women, and power and he'd do anything to get it, but I wasn't like that, I was a different type of don. That's why I didn't stoop to such lows that you see all of the other mafias doing, I didn't terrorize the city, I protected it, gained it's respect rather than it's fear. Yes, I had to bust a few heads sometimes, but it was always for the betterment of the city, not the clan."

Hearing him talk like this was a whole new kind of experience, here I'd thought my entire life that he was just like those other dons and bosses in the end, but he wasn't. We were one of the big dogs, we were supposed to be feared and my entire life I'd grown up thinking that we had been. My childhood, when I'd go by shops that my father had influence in the shopkeepers had always given in, more or less, to my demands, but it wasn't because they feared retribution, it was because they thanked him for his protection by showing me kindness.

"That's why we lost so much money and became targets for the other clans. We were showing a "soft spot", but in reality we were empowering the community to stand up against the others." my mother entered.

"I'm glad to see that we don't have to continue the clan anymore. We can rid the world of one more bad influence in society." my father thanked. Just then I could hear the heart monitor start to slow down, I turned instinctively to see that his heart was giving out.

"Papa!" I cried. He just stared at me with the last of his bombastic energy, his eyes glowing with it, and smiled sincerely.

"I'm glad you did what you did son." he whispered.

The monitor flat lined.

* * *

_Richtofen_

My hands, I could remember staring at my hands, they were covered in blood, and the screams that assailed my ears. They were horrible, ranging in all manner of tones, there were small children crying, women screaming bloody murder, and men crying out in anguish and agony. It was all so horrible and terrifying, the endless darkness, the emptiness of nothing all around me. It all felt so real, but it was hard to distinguish if it was truly real at all, like a realm that I only I knew, and that I only entered when I'd failed to keep my demons at bay. I was terrified, alone, unable to make any of the voices stop or silence the screams that got louder and louder the longer I spent in this horrible place.

The voices were perhaps the worst, whispering and sometimes shouting at me, they would sound like they were inside my head and then they would be like other people talking to me from a distance. All of my sins and wrongs were being told to me over and over again by their incessant murmurs and yells. I wanted them to stop, I knew the things I'd done wrong and I'd tried to make them right, but it was no use against them. Everything was happening all at once, it was the worst kind of chaos and agony, I clutched my head hoping it would help me, but it was all in vain. I lashed out at the darkness that held nothing within, but the invisible voices that wracked my mind and forced me into quivering madness.

"This is Hell. This is what Hell is like isn't it? Make it stop! Make it stop!" I'd pleaded continuously and in vain.

_Yes, this is Hell, Edward, and it is your Hell. This is what awaits you on the other side, where your sins lie in wait to haunt you at the end of your life. This is, but only a taste of the real terror that hungrily waits for your arrival across the River Styx and down the cascades of the bloody waters that rush into the eternal pits of Stygia and down through the circles of Hell. _

I tried to strike the voices that assailed me, but as I swiped my hands through the emptiness blood flung from them covering an originally non-existent black wall. The blood spattered on it as I continued to lash out at the voices and when I stopped and looked around I saw the horrible words they'd formed.

**Eddy is a liar**

It was just one at first, but as I turned around more of the same sentence appeared and soon the entirety of the darkness was nothing but the overlapping words.

_Eddy is a liar._

Even the voices were taunting me with it in their shifting tones, from high, giggling laughter to low, demonic growls.

"Stop! Please stop!" I cried holding my bloody hands to my ears hoping to block them out.

_Eddy is a liar!_

They kept getting louder, soon the screams started joining in with the chant that drove me further into insanity.

_**Eddy is a liar! Eddy is a liar! Eddy is a liar!**_

They wouldn't shut up, nothing was helping to end their torment, I was desperate for relief, but none came it was endless. I closed my eyes, nearly tore my own ears off, trying to escape the torture and then... silence.

I opened my eyes, there was nothing but darkness again and there were no screams, just perfect and utter silence. However, I could feel someone staring at me, I dared to turn around and I saw the pale and mutilated face of my own mother staring at me without eyes, and her clothing seared and ash covered.

"Mother... what have they done to you?" I asked with a weak voice.

"They did nothing to me... this was all your fault... you did this to me..." she whispered.

"No, I didn't... I wanted to save you, but..." I tried to defend myself.

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!" she screamed. I cringed and turned to ignored her, but then I saw the face of my father, mutilated in the same fashion.

"Why Edward, why did you leave us to die?" he asked, slowly coming forward towards me.

"I didn't... please just stop!" I pleaded.

"Big brother, why didn't you wake me up? Why didn't you save me too?" I heard my sister's small voice call from my right. She was dressed in a seared pajama outfit that had faded and was covered in ash much like my mother's clothing had been. She was approaching me as well, and I assumed that my mother was doing the same.

"Please, stay away from me!"

Why wouldn't this torment stop, why did I deserve this, it wasn't my fault for their deaths; I wanted to save them, but I couldn't the firemen had stopped me. My parents and my sister all grabbed onto me simultaneously and dragged me down through the pitch black floor.

"No, please stop, I wanted to save you all! You have to believe me!" I cried, but I was soon dragged through the floor and sent plummeting. I could hear the sounds of a raging inferno, and below me I could see the demonic flames rising and falling and lashing out in their chaotic fashion. I was sure that I would feel the searing heat of the blaze that I was falling rapidly into, but instead I found myself standing upright in a single spotlight.

My hands were no longer covered in blood, but they were instead bound in front of me with an alien form of handcuffs.

"He will not give up his knowledge freely. The Commander has given us permission to wring it out of him." I heard the rough voices of the Dukni chatter around me in the darkness. They had spoken in their own language as I recalled in that memory, but it was now translated for the dark purposes of this place.

"Then let's get to it then."

Immediately I felt a burning pain on my chest, I closed my eyes and when I opened them again I could see everything that I could remember in that memory. The Dukni torturers, the tools that were strung out across the dimly lit room and I was even chained down to the floor. One of them was just now retracting from searing me with a branding iron.

"You will break human!" he spat before searing me again with the red-hot metal. I endured what seemed like an eternity of that branding iron until there was a pause and the other Dukni took over.

"Let me handle this Heknol." he hissed.

He brandished a whip with a jagged end and fashioned along the length where minute spurs that where meant to tear skin as it lashed. The first strike went across my left shoulder and I could feel even the smallest sensations of it tearing through my skin. The Dukni assailed my front side for a long while, before finally lashing at my back without mercy. I could feel the blood that had welled up from my wounds begin to run down my body in all the places where he'd lashed me.

"_Come on Edward. You know you need me. Let me out and I will save you the suffering."_

It was him... it was Richtofen... he was the liar that the voices had really been directing their anger at, but they could never tell the difference between us.

"Never, I'll never let you back out for what you've done!" I fought with him mentally.

_"Can't you just let bygones be bygones. I just want to help end your suffering, all you have to do is let me take over. I can help you, please just let me out." _he pleaded.

"No, never again!" I resisted.

_"Then I will force my way out!"_ he shouted. Now on top of the lashing I was receiving I was now having a raging headache.

_"You don't realize just what I can do for you Edward, for both of us!"_ he insisted. I was in too much pain to retaliate with anything anymore, but I was determined to keep him from getting out.

_"We've been through so much together. You know what I can do for you, stop resisting me!"_

It was all fading away, I was losing control of my senses, and slowly fading into unconsciousness. I heard that laughter, that crazed laughter, his laughter; depraved, insane, and thick with the will to hurt and harm.

_"I won't disappoint you Edward, my friend."_

I awoke in a cold sweat, my heart racing a million miles a minute, my senses were overloaded for the moment, but as I caught my breath and looked at the world around me I saw I was no longer surrounded by darkness. Around me was an actual room, it was an unfamiliar one, but it was still a room and I was half-glad to be in it, until I saw at the bottom of my vision the motionless and covered figure before me. I was in Rune's room, in the barracks, and she was sound asleep not even aware of my presence.

"No..." I whispered to myself.

_"Now you know what I want. We can make her so much more, don't you think Edward. All you have to do is give the word and we can turn her into a vessel of vengeance, for her father." _he spoke to me.

I shook my head, I didn't want to do anything of the sort and I dashed out of her room in a frenzy. How long had I been trapped in that realm of torment? What had Richtofen done in that time, what was I to be blamed for now?

_"You can run all you want Edward, you know it will happen no matter how much you try to fight it."_ he mocked. I was now in the 935 building and dashing to my room, grabbing my medication desperately and not even waiting to get a drink to swallow the pills. Slowly I felt him fading away, back into that realm that he resided in where I'd had to face the constant torment that I'd let him suffer for me.

_"Goodbye for now Edward. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again very soon."_ he laughed, his voice fading and becoming weaker.

Once he was gone I noticed Dr. Maxis at my door watching me with silent horror on his face. There was nothing I could do before I fell to the ground, unable to move anything, feeling my grip on my recently re-obtained consciousness fluttering away once more. At least this time he wouldn't take over when I awoke again, but that was no comfort.


	37. Box On A McDonald's Diet

_Rune_

I woke up the next day, after a pretty uneventful run of the outpost I wasn't expecting anything exciting to happen today either, but when I looked around my room I saw that things already weren't right. My door was opened, which I was sure I closed last night before I went to sleep and so was my window. Perhaps Dempsey or Takeo checked up on me last night and got distracted by some other matter that they couldn't take the time to close my door, but my window was all but a mystery to me. I thought back to the teasing that Nikolai had done two weeks ago, about how Dr. Simons watched me while I slept at night. I chuckled a little bit, getting dressed after shutting both my door and window and started preparing for the day ahead.

In the main room I saw that Dempsey had recovered from the accidental crotch shot he'd received, courtesy of me.

"You think you can handle it today?" I asked as soon as I saw him.

"Yeah, I'm fine today. Gotta love it when those nanobots can double time." he replied happy to no longer be in pain. We shared in a bout of laughs and I went to get something to eat in the mess hall, to my surprise I saw a familiar face that I hadn't seen in while.

"Hey, Richtofen!" I greeted as I came in through the door. I didn't want to hold anything bad against him from what he did a few days back, holding grudges just wasn't my thing (with the exception of the Dukni who'd killed my father).

He looked to see me, but instead of responding to me he just let a small smile that faded quickly and he turned away with reluctance. Dr. Maxis was close to him and eyed me with a peculiar expression; something was definitely not right with him and Maxis was trying to convey it through that silent gaze. I didn't want to stand on ceremony though, I felt bad for him, I didn't know why I did but I did. Against Dr. Maxis' silent protests I sat down with them and tried my best to make polite conversation and at least try to undo whatever damage was done during the time he was gone. I understood that Richtofen had alternate personality issues, but I was given a rude awakening to just how bad they were when I tried to initiate in conversation.

"Hey I hope you're feeling better. I was worried that you might be out for the rest of your time on Agria... I'm glad to see you back out here to be honest." I started gently.

"I'm sorry..." Richtofen muttered quietly.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry for anything he might have done in my absence." he clarified.

"What, the alternate personality, he wasn't too much to handle. I didn't even see much of him anyway." I chided.

I got that look from Dr. Maxis again and now I was feeling even worse than before for even trying to help out.

"Rune, I believe you should let him be for a while. Edward isn't at his best at the moment, I'm sure he'll be feeling better sometime later today." Maxis urged gently. I took his offer to leave, but not before getting a few last words in before I ate breakfast.

"If you want to talk to me later, Richtofen, you'll be able to find me in the garage. I don't have any duties to attend to today so I'll be there virtually anytime." I informed him, to which he nodded slightly and I left shortly after.

They both left the mess hall soon after I sat down to eat and I was left to wonder about just what to say if Richtofen did actually come by. I also thought about the fact that I'd have Spencer to help me out with the Grav-racer today and that might make things a little more awkward than I would have liked. After I ate I went back to the barracks and checked in with Dempsey before making my way to the garage and starting on inspecting the magnetic suspension. Spencer didn't arrive until close to noon, but thankfully he'd brought all the parts he could spare so that we could get started on fixing the racer for real. Like he'd said yesterday, the parts he had were a little outdated, but I knew ways to squeeze a little more out of them that would put them up to par with the current models out there.

"Hey, Spencer..." I started, remembering that Richtofen might arrive sometime today to talk to me.

"Yeah? Whatcha need kid?" he asked.

"I might have a friend coming by to talk to me, so if I leave to do that I want you to know about it beforehand."

"That's all right, I can handle workin' on the racer myself."

"Thanks."

"No problem kid."

For the most part it was a lot of trial and error trying to get the parts to work at their maximum efficiency, more than enough times we'd had to shut off the racer completely for the fear of a total blowout.

"Damn, fucker's stubborn as an ass!" Spencer exclaimed after the third incident of having to shut down the racer.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll get it sometime, besides we're in no rush." I quelled him.

"Yeah, but you need practice before the races start officially." he reminded me.

"True, but let's not stress ourselves out now, it'll just lead to more problems trying to get the racer fixed."

"Yeah, let's just try it again, maybe we can try adjusting the gauges lower this time." he suggested.

Just before I started to get to work on setting the gauges I caught a glimpse of someone standing at the garage door; I had to double take to realize that it was Richtofen standing there.

"Spencer hold up." I said walking away from the racer.

"What, something wrong...?" he asked, then he went quiet suddenly.

"Hey Richtofen. You took up offer I see." I started.

"Ja, if ve could..." he looked over at Spencer, "speak alone I'd be very appreciative."

"Sure, I'm okay with that." I replied. "Hey Spencer we're going to go talk, if you want you can work on something else until I get back, okay."

"All right, you just be careful ya don't go out too far. The Swarmers are a little agressive today." he warned.

"I'll make sure to be careful." I promised and I started for the end of the plateau where the road lead to the Pit. He wasn't dressed in his armor, just casual clothes that I thought were a bit "heavy" for the environment around here, but he didn't seem to be encumbered.

"So, how are you doing?" I began casually.

"I could be doing better." he replied a little grimly.

"Well what's the matter. The whole alternate personality thing got your head in a bind?" I asked.

"Sort of, but zhat's not vhat's really bothering me."

"Well then what is it? Don't be shy about it, you can talk about anything you need to, that's why I offered it to you."

He paused, trying to think of what words to use with what he was trying to convey.

"He didn't hurt you did he?" he asked. I was surprised to hear that was his question, but I went along with it regardless.

"No, I'm fine he didn't even touch me, besides I could have beat him back into to next week if I needed to." I responded confidently.

He chuckled quietly, but then returned to his grim outlook.

"I don't doubt zhat you could have, but I just vanted to be sure."

"I can understand that, so anything else you need to say?" I urged him on.

"He didn't say anything... did he?" he asked a bit hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"He didn't say anything zhat vould have... put a dent into ze vay things are going right now did he?"

I was confused for a moment, trying to figure out what he meant and then it came to me; he was asking about what his alternate personality had said to me in the garage when he'd come out.

"Well... I do have to say I was a bit "surprised". I'll just leave it at that." I answered.

"So he did say something about it... It vasn't too bad vas it?" he asked a bit embarrassed at the prospect of having to investigate what was said.

"No, he just kind of dropped a little bombshell that I suppose you would have told me sooner or later." I clarified.

"Right..." he chuckled nervously.

"You were going to tell me weren't you?" I instigated humorously.

"It vould have depended, but..." he deliberately dodged the question, "I'm glad you're all right."

"So is that all you needed to talk about?" I inquired.

"For ze most part, yes." he answered.

"Okay then, I guess I'll get back to fixing the Grav-racer." I said before heading off to the garage again.

"Vait!"

I turned around quickly, there was this pitiful look on his face, like he didn't want to be left alone.

"Can I still help out? I'm sure Maxis von't mind if I do, my schedule's pretty empty." he asked.

"Sure, the more the merrier. Spencer and I won't mind it a bit." I told him. His eyes seemed to light up and he followed along gladly. As I walked in the door I saw that Spencer was having a little trouble with lifting a box of parts.

"Little help kid?" he asked straining to heft up the large box. I rushed to the other side of him and grabbed hold of another side, even with my help though the thing was still motionless.

"What the hell did you pack in here Spencer?" I questioned letting go of the box.

"Well this one has the new engine in it I'm sure." he answered.

"A new engine? Are you sure it's a Grav-racer engine because that thing's heavier than an elephant on a fucking McDonald's diet."

"Pretty sure, it's about the newest thing I could spare for ya." he replied scratching his head.

"Are you sure that's all that's in there?" I asked. We went back and forth for about five minutes before turning back and seeing that the box was gone.

"Well where the fuck did it go?" Spencer asked. We both look around like idiots until we heard the clinking and clacking of metal onto the concrete floor.

There was Richtofen next to the Grav-racer with the box on the floor and several parts scattered across the ground. It took me a minute to realize he'd just picked up the entire box that neither Spencer and I could pick up together with all of our strength, alone, by himself, no help from anyone else. Spencer and I both looked at him with confused awe on our faces until he saw us and decided to speak.

"You didn't think zhat ze nanobots vere just for reflexes did you?"

* * *

_Dempsey_

I was in my office when I got a call from Nikolai, I didn't know what to expect when I picked up, but I hoped for the best.

"Hello."

"Hey, Tank, it's Nikolai." he started, he was clearly pained with something.

"Hey man, how are things?" I asked carefully.

"They...they're okay... I'll be back in two days. Just thought you'd like a heads-up." he informed me.

"That's fine, you take as much time as you need..." I told him, but I was curious to see how things were going with him, he sounded so defeated. "Is everything all right?"

There wasn't an immediate reply, but there was one nonetheless.

"He didn't make it..." he muttered. So his father had died like the doctor said he would, I felt sorry for Nikolai now, more than I ever could have before.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Are you staying for the funeral?" I asked.

"Da, that's why I call to tell you I won't be back until the 29th." he clarified.

"Okay then..." I tried to think of something else to say, but I didn't want to push him, "I'll let you go then. Thanks for telling me Nikolai."

"No problem Tank." he ended.

The phone line went dead and I was stuck there for a moment, thinking about all the other things I could have said or asked, but it didn't matter now. Now I knew that when he came back he wouldn't be in the best of moods, so now I had to tell the others about this so they would understand his position when he did arrive. Even though I never personally knew his father, I could feel for him, even if I'd lost my father in completely different circumstances I could relate to the absence of an important family figure. I'd lost both of mine though, and he still had his mother who was probably also grieving with him. It was a sad thing to picture, but I knew it all too well.

"Dempsey." I heard Takeo call for me.

I walked out of my office and went to see what he wanted; I wasn't in the least bit expecting what I was about to see.

"Well by god, if it ain't Tank Dempsey!" the familiar gruff voice called out as soon as I came into the main room. I was assaulted by a boa constrictor hug that threaten to squeeze the life out of me and pop my head right off.

"Nice to see you too Spencer." I strained. After the life or death hug was over I took in a much needed breath and gathered my senses again.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, I knew Rune had said he was over yesterday, but I didn't know he'd come back today.

"Well I came over yesterday after you told me Rune was working on the racer and I thought I'd come by with some parts and help her get it fixed up in time for this year's races." he explained.

"I see, she tell me you'd be coming over today too." I admitted.

"I'm here now and I just thought I'd pop in and say hi to ya."

"It's a pleasure to see you again after all this time."

"Sure is, and hey I wanted to ask what's the story on that new fellow you got in the militia."

He was referring to Dr. Richtofen and I was confused at how he knew about him, he hadn't been out of the building yet today, or had he.

"You mean Dr. Richtofen?" I asked.

"Yeah him, he looks awfully familiar, but I can't quite place my finger on why that's so." he contemplated.

"Well he was in Ian's platoon during the war." I told him. He snapped his fingers and his eyes went wide with realization.

"That's why! Oh man, I've got stuff to mull over with him. So many questions to ask and stories to tell."

"You know him too?" I questioned.

"Sure do, the man single-handedly saved Ian from a horde of winghasts on Gygax. Surely Ian's told you that story before."

He hadn't and now I was curious about it, just how many people knew Dr. Richtofen that I wasn't aware of.

"No, he never did tell me, always was quiet about his time in the war." I replied.

"Oh, well that's a shame. It's a good story, you might want to ask Richtofen yourself about it. Maybe he'd be willing to tell you his version of it." Spencer suggested.

"Me ask him?! He's not exactly the conversational type."

Spencer chuckled and put a hand on my shoulder.

"You just gotta get to know him. The closer you get to him the more he tells ya, he's one of those kinds of people who only come out of their shell with those they can trust." he explained.

"Yeah, but still I'm not really all that eager to get on his good side."

"What does he scare you or something?" Spencer asked, his chuckle still lingering.

"I guess, it's either that or I'm just utterly creeped out by him."

"There's no need to be afraid of him. He's not a violent type of person, he's just "shy", for lack of a better word."

"Still though, I don't exactly trust him."

Spencer sighed and patted my shoulder with the hand that was still there.

"Give it time. I'm sure you'll get used to him, just like Ian did." he said before checking a carefully hidden watch on his right wrist. "Oh, hey I gotta get back to helping with the racer. If you want you can come down and help or something."

"That's fine I've got things to do here." I replied.

"All right then, I'll see ya some other time." he waved and left the barracks.

"He seems rike a nice person, despite his appearance." Takeo observed suddenly.

"Huh? Oh you mean Spencer, yeah he's a cool guy. He knew Ian for years even before he went off to fight in the war." I informed him.

"He never fought in the war himself?"

"No, he couldn't pass the physicals. Spencer's got a heart condition, I think if I remember correctly he's got a murmur or something like that."

"I see..." he muttered before taking off with his sniper rifle.

"Where are you going Tak?" I asked.

"Target practice." he replied simply.

"Oh, well I gotta stay here, I've got a patrol to run in another hour. You be careful out there, I've been getting reports all day that the Swarmers have been more aggressive today." I cautioned.

"I wirr make sure to be safe Dempsey." he said before leaving. Having reminded myself about the patrol I went to my room and began to put on my combat armor for the occasion.

I was hoping that the Swarmers were still the only thing we had to worry about around here, but with our luck the Dukni could come back any day and start making things difficult around here again.


	38. Respect For The Brave

_? (Alias: Da'ki'lo)_

"How much longer must I linger here human?" Suhass hissed venomously.

"As long as it takes." I replied to him unfazed by his tone.

"The Du'na walks the face of Agria, and you expect me to stand on ceremony just because it's not time yet?!"

"The Du'na is a dangerous target Suhass, thousands of your kind have died at his hands, would you wish to be one of them?"

"No, I wish to avenge those who've died because of him! You are obviously preventing that goal from being achieved!"

"And you are painfully unaware of just what you're really up against."

The Pe'li'mi drove his blade deep into the wall behind him, fueled through by the Dukni's building rage and impatience.

"Your superior told me you'd be more sensible than this." I chided.

"I was never given the actual estimate of how long this task would take. Now I am forced to wait pointlessly with a human who's been brainwashed several times over." the Pe'li'mi scoffed. I was upon the unwitting Pe'li'mi within seconds, my knife poised at his scaly throat ready to slice at any second. Suhass, with his blade still lodged into the wall, had no way to defend himself if I decided to end him there and then.

"Watch what you say, Pe'li'mi, you never know what'll set some people off." I whispered violently to him. I retracted my knife and placed it back into it's sheath before returning to where I was sitting. I heard the crude sound of the blade dislodging from the wall, and the hushed cursing of the alien and then there was silence once more.

"How long until that ship arrives?" he questioned.

"It'll be here tomorrow, then we'll be staying in the Nimbus system." I answered.

"Why there?"

"Because it's an outlaw system, plenty of shady characters for us to blend in with. Plus it'll be the place that gets us to Agria undetected." I further explained.

I heard the Pe'li'mi chuckle with dark delight as the sounds of him sharpening the razor sharp blade echoed in the room.

"Good, I can't wait to put the Du'na's head on a platter." he laughed. Just as he finished sharpening his weapon I received a call from his superior which I immediately took.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I have some bad news I'm afraid." the Hood spoke as though it weren't really bad news at all.

"Then out with it, give us details." I urged.

"Due to a temporal flux in the Crasis Nebula the forces that were originally going to arrive into Agrian orbit will now be unable to until the flux clears up." the Hood informed.

"And that has to do with us how?" I asked.

"It means that if Suhass goes to Agria he'll have no Dukni contacts in which to descend onto the planet and that means he cannot go through with the mission."

"That's an easy fix, my friend." I chided.

"Oh really," the Hood mocked, "how do you plan on fixing it then. Enlighten me, Da'ki'lo."

"I've already set us up to stay a while in the Nimbus system. It's a star system ruled by outlaws; pirates, bounty-heads, con artists, you name it they're there. I also have a friend there who has access to some classified technology that will allow us to travel to the Vega system completely undetected by any kind of radar, military or otherwise." I explained to him with glee.

"I see, so you've already thought about this possibility then. I applaud you human, but just how will you manage to stay hidden while in orbit. I'm afraid only us Dukni hold the secrets to cloaking." he brayed.

"See, that's where you come in..."

"What?! You don't expect me to hand over the blueprints to our cloaking systems to your friend do you?!" the Hood cried in outrage.

"I don't expect you to give them to him, I expect you to give them to me so that I know they'll be in safe hands and won't get out to anyone else." I clarified.

"How can I trust you on this Da'ki'lo? You are a traitor to your own kind after all."

"Tell you what, I'll give you something of mine to hold onto while I have your precious plans. Let's say... my class three fighter ship and my Athena class interceptor." I bargained.

"Hmm... two high class ships for the plans... May I ask if we can look into them while they are in our custody?" the Hood questioned.

"Absolutely, disassemble them and take a look, just make sure you put them back together when I get back with your plans."

"Very well Da'ki'lo, you may use our blueprints for cloaking, but I expect them to be back when this mission is over, no matter the outcome."

I was pleased with the successful bargain and leaned back in my chair.

"When can I expect the blueprints to arrive?" I inquired.

"Whenever you get into the Nimbus system, you call me and they'll be transferred to you. Do be warned, we'll be tracking that data and making sure it's with you at all times." the Hood warned.

"Of course, wouldn't want to lose your exclusive product would you." I chided.

"Goodbye, Da'ki'lo. I expect those plans to return without being leaked, or it'll be more than just your ships that will get disassembled."

* * *

_Takeo_

I had expected to return to Garrison without incident, natural or otherwise, but fate did not give me that luxury when I ended up having to shot two Swarmers in a hunting party. They were easy enough to spot and kill, but the fact that they had the guts to go so far as to search the Pit made me uneasy. They were either desperate for food or they were intentionally hunting down humans as prey. I would have thought the creatures would have known better by now, but they were beasts and only did what their instincts told them to do. As I took the road back to Garrison I passed by the late afternoon patrol that included Dempsey, I did not stop to talk and kept on my way to the outpost.

When I pulled up to the garage with the Duneracer I saw that Richtofen had joined Rune and Spencer in fixing the Grav-racer. I was leery at seeing the doctor there, but the feeling that I usually had around the doctor was not as strong as it had been in a while. I was convinced that Dr. Richtofen was back to his "normal" self, if normal was actually a state he could exist in.

"Did you manage to get it working yet?" I asked leaving the vehicle and grabbing my sniper rifle.

"Almost, we've got a few more finishing touches to do and then tomorrow we'll test it out for real." Rune replied happily. It looked like they were on break now, and they all looked thoroughly spent and exhausted.

"I take it you wirr sreep well tonight." I remarked on Rune's exhausted face.

"You bet." she answered.

I was happy to see that they were already nearly done, she could get her practice in and then she would be racing once more. I enjoyed getting a little time to watch her races when they were on, even back when I was still in New Tokyo I watched a little bit of Grav-racing. There were times when I still found it hard to believe that I knew someone who'd been to my ancestral homeland of Japan (who was not of that descent of course). I'd always wanted to see it for myself, but the closest I ever got to seeing the real culture was on Mars in Heian Square. I was always ashamed at myself for never taking the time to take a vacation and set up a trip to go there, I was always at the beck and call of duty. Not that I minded it at all, it felt honorable to respond and be responsible as I was, but there would always be that spiritual hole where I longed to see where my ancestors originated from.

It was doubtful that I would have any kind of relatives there, our family had long since branched out and the Masaki blood had been diluted on Earth, there would probably be only third or fourth cousins left there. At least I knew for sure that I was pure of that line, I was proud of it and that was why I carried on the way that had died centuries ago. The way of the warrior, the path of the samurai, the tradition that my father passed onto me through his father and from his father and so on. It felt right to continue on this traditional code of honor and dignity, without the moral implications of the past that would usually mean that if I brought any kind of dishonor to my family or myself I was to kill myself. Even though that was the truly traditional means I refrained from that extreme, it seemed pointless in this day and age, even if it was a bit deviant from the path.

Despite wanting to get some rest I was unable to bring myself to nap or to actually do anything of the sort. I was kept awake by some kind of gnawing curiosity in my head even after searching through my mind and finding no straight answer to what that curiosity was implying me to seek. Eventually I settled on going to the barracks, but sadly finding nothing to do there, so I wandered aimlessly around the outpost as I often did when things didn't feel right with me. As I looped around the north gate I heard raucous laughter from the garage, where Rune, Spencer, and Dr. Richtofen were still taking their break. It was eerie hearing the doctor actually laugh at something, his laughter wasn't the thing that creeped me out, it was the fact that he _had_ laughed that got to me.

I took a peek out of the gate and saw that they looked happy and pleased with themselves, I still couldn't believe that the two would be so cheerful around someone so... "awkward".

"Hey, Takeo! Wanna join us?" Rune called from the garage beckoning me with a gesture. I saw no point in wandering alone and quietly, at least it would give me something to do and perhaps I would hear a story or too as I thought back to what Spencer had said earlier in the barracks to Dempsey. I leaned against the door frame and nodded to Rune and they continued their conversation which lead into a flurry of different would-be scenarios and, as I expected, stories. Spencer had been the instigator for getting the doctor to tell his side of the stories that mostly detailed the experiences that Ian had back in the war. I was confused for a moment, but I remembered that Dr. Richtofen had also fought in the war and in the same platoon as Ian, something I still found hard to digest.

"How many days was it Richtofen? When the platoon was trapped in the Crag." Spencer asked, he was now telling a story about how Legend platoon had found themselves stranded on Malum, a vast craggy planet filled with valuable ores and gems.

"It vas nearly eighteen days until a Terran shuttle finally came to take us back to Thesia." the doctor answered.

"Yeah, that's right. Ian had told me that you guys survived on hunting the crag beasts and rationing what little water you had." Spencer continued.

"Zhat is correct. It vas a miserable survival, but ve survived und ve live to tell ze tale to zhis day."

"It seems rike you've managed through a lot, Dr. Richtofen." I entered. He stared at me, not with anger or offense, but with a slight surprise.

"Ja, more zhan most can say zhey've been through." he replied.

"I think it suits your character," Rune added, " a scientist with a past. It's got a nice ring to it."

"Yeah, I wished I'd been able to fight alongside your father back then, but..." Spencer began, he tapped his chest where his heart was located, "medical issues and all."

"I'm sure Ian didn't think any less of you, he vas never one to hold grudges." Richtofen gestured.

"He was a good fellow he was, and I'm glad that his daughter turned out more like him than anything else." Spencer complimented Rune.

"The only thing missing is a sex change." she joked. Spencer and Richtofen laughed, I merely gave a chuckle, not that I didn't find it funny it was just that I tended to be reserved around other people, especially when I was not well acquainted with them.

After another bout of stories and a string of jokes that ended up going into the deeper end of perversion the three were all fairly finished.

"Well," Spencer said with energy as he stood up, "I guess it's time for me to head home. I'll be back tomorrow so we can get that racer up and runnin' for real."

"Right, well see ya Spencer." Rune bid. Before he left, however, he extended a hand to Richtofen and waited for a response of some sort.

"Vhat?" the doctor asked, confused at what he was wanting.

"Never done a handshake before?" Spencer questioned humorously.

Dr. Richtofen stood up from his own chair and gladly shook hands with the bearded biker man.

"Honor meeting you sir." Spencer thanked.

"Auch, nein. Zhere's no need for any of zhat. Zhat is a part of me zhat is better left alone zhese days." Richtofen waved off modestly.

"I insist, a war veteran like yourself deserves proper respect and I just wouldn't be myself if I didn't give that respect. It takes a whole different kind of courage to serve your people, especially against a threat like the Dukni." Spencer urged.

"Zhen I guess zhere's no vay of dissuading you so, danke." the doctor finally gave in.

I let Spencer pass by as he gave me a nod and I returned the gesture, with a final wave goodbye he started down the path and circled around the outpost to the road south-bound. It was now dusk as Vega was already hanging dangerously low in the darkening sky.

"Well, let's go get something to eat. I'm hungry." Rune insisted giving me a gentle push out of the door frame and onto the way back inside the outpost. Dr. Richtofen followed behind us, there was a fragile smile on his face, but I had the feeling that it was genuine one and held no dark meaning in it's revealing.


	39. Once A Soldier Always A Soldier

***A late update for the simple reason of I've been gaming... a lot. I've recently been playing World of Tanks consistently over the past week, I've had Minecraft going and I even got back onto League of Legends. Not to mention that I've been playing Rust and Dragon Age: Origins and Dragon Age II with no end in site. And the fact that the Steam Summer Sale is coming makes it all the more time consuming. I will try to get stuff written and posted, but in the event that I don't you all know why.***

_Richtofen_

"And where exactly have you been? I didn't even see you in the mess hall!" Maxis growled as soon I walked into the building.

"I was busy helping get the Grav-racer back into working order." I answered.

"And you didn't think to tell me beforehand?! I was worried sick, you could have been dragged into a filthy Swarmer pit for all I knew!"

"Dr. Maxis, please. I'm here and I'm perfectly fine, not a scratch on me. You should be glad for just that fact."

"Edward you know that I like to be informed on your whereabouts, just in case anything horrible happens."

"And just what kind of horrible things do you expect to happen? I'm not a child Dr. Maxis I can take care of myself. I've been doing it for nearly twenty years now, I'm sure I can handle it."

He opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it and sighed heavily with a look of defeat on his face.

"I just don't want another occurrence. You can understand that can't you?" he asked.

"Of course I can, but trust me, I would have stayed here if I would have known that would happen. I would always come straight here if something were amiss, I'm just as worried about him as you are." I replied, I was definitely not ready to give up control again, especially with knowing Richtofen's intentions to harm people here.

"Right... if you need me I'll be with Groph trying to locate the source of those high readings. You're welcome to lend a hand if you want." he offered.

"Very well, I think I might just head to bed, it's been a long day."

"Fair enough."

We departed ways, I was left to my own devices in my room and sat for a while, aimlessly searching my thoughts for something to occupy myself with before I settled down for the night. A single thing caught my attention as I got back on my feet and opened up my closet, searching for items that had long been retired from use. In the very back was one of the objects I was looking for, my old helmet; it was rather dusty having not been moved since we arrived here so I got to swiping off the dust and revealing the true colors and sheen to it. We all had a personalized helmet in the platoon, they reflected our given code names and were specialized to our primary tasks. Just looking at it brought back old memories, some good but more than often not.

The visor and it's cold, lifeless black color seemed to hold a gaze of it's own, and it was a very powerful one at that. The temptation to put the helmet on again was strong, but I refused to do so, I'd only be bringing back the worst of those bad memories. My fingers ran past the pits and scratches unconsciously and they reminded me of the many battles I'd fought in, covert and explicit. Perhaps, it was a bad idea to try and find these old things again, but then again it was the only thing on my mind now. I tossed the helmet onto my bed and began to dig further into the closet to locate the other pieces of my old operations uniform. Utility belt, wrist indicator, knife holster, and even the medals that were hidden in a box on the upper shelf were finally found and laid out on my bed.

Seeing them all there increases the urge to wear them all again, that damned visor seemed to have a life of it's own, it was staring at me, turning me against the better half of my judgement. I felt idiotic having brought all of this memorabilia out, I wanted to return them back to their dark hiding places, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. There was an instinct rising inside of myself, an old instinct that had been sharpened in battle many years ago and was now trying to vie it's way free. That single call that had been awakened in my younger years, it was now returning and it was desperate to come out once more. I wasn't the young man that I was before, times had changed, but... there was something still left of that soldier who'd bravely stayed behind to save his commanding officer and retrieve vital data on the Dukni war machine.

He was still there, the raucous spirit who fought for his people not for that corroded excuse for a government. Even though there wasn't a war anymore he still wanted to be free to spend the last bits of battle-lust before he was gone forever. It was a calling to the fields of battle, wherever they may be, to protect and preserve humanity in all it's forms, across the expanses of the universe where it may be found. An oath and a pledge that will never die no matter how much time passes and no matter how much things change. A soldier's oath to his people, and a soldier's oath to himself... it was the pledge I'd taken when I graduated military school, fifteen years ago and again when I was brought into the war.

It was pointless to let it go to waste now.

"Dr. Maxis." I called to him in the doorway.

"Yes, Richtofen?" he asked. He was watching the radar screens at the moment and didn't have time to look back at me.

"I'm going for the evening patrol." I stated.

"You're what?!" he said, a little outraged, but he never turned away from that screen.

"You heard me."

"Edward you've just recovered from coming back to us, and you're insisting to go out and risk life and limb trying to find whatever dangers may lurk outside the walls of this outpost?!"

"Yes." I replied simply. This time he finally turned to me, but it was a gradual motion and when I saw him he was not angered at all. He smiled faintly and seemed to chuckle a bit before he spoke again.

"You've found that old stuff haven't you?" he mused.

"Of course I have."

"Then I guess there's no point in trying to stop you. You'll just sneak out anyway if I try to bar you from going out."

"So you're not going to stop me at all?" I asked humorously.

"Not at all." he answered returning his attention to the screens once more.

I left without another word and made my way out to the gate where the evening patrol was already setting up. In the lead Duneracer were Takeo and Rune and I called out to them quickly.

"What the hell kind of get up is that?" Rune questioned with a smile on her face. Takeo looked less than enthused about the old uniform, now fully complete with the helmet and all.

"You should be familiar with this, you're father wore something similiar to it." I replied.

"So, I take it the leviathan's got you in it's coils, hmm."

"It would seem so."

Takeo looked over at her and they both nodded with a mutual understanding.

"You take the shift off Takeo, and make sure to tell Dempsey about Richtofen taking over for you. I don't care how he reacts, just tell him it happened regardless." she said to him. The Manjurian hopped out of the vehicle and took his time with returning inside of the outpost and the barracks.

"Well, what are you waiting for, another war? Let's get going!" she urged. I was more than happy to oblige.

* * *

_Rune_

Whether it was some weird turn of fate or some latent inspiration from telling his stories that brought this on I didn't really care. Having a true Dukni war veteran in the same Duneracer as me was proof enough to assure me that Richtofen was not about to give up on this militia path. It didn't matter if the Swarmers were aggressive, we'd mow them down and send them back to their dens in pieces. At every checkpoint there was something to be alert about, the Swarmers mostly, but then there were the really small things that you had to just "feel" around the area for. The hint of sulfur, or the faint stench of seared skin that was carried on the breeze. There was something else that was around Garrison, but it was no Swarmer of any kind, but then again it wasn't really here yet.

"That smell..." I muttered to myself.

"It's seared flesh of some sort." Richtofen stated, his voice relayed through the helmet and played at a much softer volume.

"Yeah, you know what that's a sign of?" I asked him.

"I don't much like ze idea of a Reaper being around zhis area." he answered indirectly.

"Yeah, neither do I, that's why we're going to have to lay off this route for a while."

"It vould be a shame to lose militiamen to zhat thing."

"Which is exactly why I'm reporting this to Dempsey as soon as we get back." I stated.

It was a little awkward seeing that type of helmet again, it reminded me so much about my father and how he used to go about on night patrols and snipe Swarmers in the darkness. The only thing about Richtofen's was that it didn't have the horns on it like my father had on his, they all were customized to the code names of each operative. My father had been Dragon so he got one with horns and it was also painted to look like it was scaled, but the horns weren't massive, they were rather small so that they wouldn't interfere. Seeing Richtofen's helmet... it seemed fitting to him for some reason and not just because he was code name Leviathan either. The helmet's visor was painted with two fangs protruding from the top and from the bottom, but they never met each other, above the visor were the nostrils and on the top of the helmet were the vicious serpentine eyes.

"Ve should be getting along or ve'll be behind schedule." Richtofen noted.

"Right. Okay boys let's move!" I ordered the other militiamen. We hopped back in and drove to the second checkpoint, but along the way we spotted groups of nocturnal Swarmer hunters that, thankfully, weren't interested in us. That didn't mean that we were out of trouble from them, there could be more groups out there and that was an issue we'd have to address soon, whether it was tonight or tomorrow. We'd have to do something about them before the Reaper moved in which would force the Swarmers to switch to hunting humans primarily. I shivered to think back to the last time a Reaper moved into the area, we were cluttered with Swarmer pelts for weeks and we'd even run low on ammuntion to keep fighting the bastards.

"You never mentioned zhat Reapers breathed fire." Richtofen commented seemingly out of nowhere.

"What?" I asked, a little confused at his sudden remark.

"Reapers breathe fire, zhat's vhy zhere's ze smell of sulfur on ze air." he continued.

"They do... wait, where are you finding this information at?" I questioned. He gestured to his wrist indicator which was now on and casting a faintly blue glow on his person.

"I vas curious about zhem, und zhey don't seem like very good neighbors."

"Well, when you're a four hundred pound, aerial, fire breathing, perpetually hungry predator, you're gonna tend not to be the nicest guy on the block." I retorted.

At the second checkpoint we had our first run in with an aggressive Swarmer, it was alone and it was badly wounded, but nonetheless it attacked. Luckily no one got injured and we checked around to make sure there weren't any others to be worried about. At one point the entire patrol was stopped and it was very good that we did too, Richtofen had been able to catch a glimpse of an Alpha Swarmer that was asleep inside of a pit that we were just about to come up on. Slowly we went back to the Duneracers and made haste to make sure that the thing wouldn't wake up and want to eat us for it's midnight snack. After that it was obvious that the helmet had night-vision, among other settings for the visor, which worked extremely well for the rest of us.

"We need to let you do evening patrols more often." I said coming up on the third checkpoint.

"Ze helmet makes it easier zhan it vould be otherwise, I vould suggest putting in an order for some night reconnaissance equipment vhen ve get back." he replied.

"That's some pretty expensive stuff you're talking about there. The military doesn't just hand out night-vision goggles for free you know."

"Perhaps later, vhen you start racing again and get some victories under your belt you could afford to pay for zhem." he suggested. That didn't sound like too bad of an idea, that is if I could win some races this year, I was a bit out of practice, but then again when had that ever stopped me.

"I could do that, besides I'd be giving most of the winnings for the benefit of the outpost anyway." I answered.

The rest of the patrol went without incident and we pulled back into the outpost without a hitch, except for the fact that Dempsey was standing outside of the gate when we arrived. I had a feeling I would have to end up defending Richtofen if all else failed, but I was prepared for it, after all he did save our asses from being mowed over by an Alpha Swarmer. I strode up to him, ready to take some heat but when I tried to speak he hushed me with a single gesture and I waited for him to speak first. He didn't say anything until Richtofen was present and even then he was silent; there was a pissed off look in his face and I was prepared for the worst. I was surprised when I heard a low chuckle resonate from him and then a wide smile appeared on his face.

"Well, looks like you've made quite the recovery, eh doc." he spoke.

Even Richtofen was confused for a moment, but he managed to take his helmet off and cast a smile.

"I'd thought for a moment you'd be shouting all manner of expletives." Richtofen admitted.

"Well, for a while I thought I was going to as well, but Takeo... he convinced me otherwise." Dempsey replied.

"How'd he manage that?" I asked, Dempsey wasn't swayed very easily when he was pissed.

"With a few choice words about "honor" and "the warrior spirit"."

"So he gave you that samurai speech, huh." I replied. Dempsey just smiled again and held out his hand to Richtofen who clasped on in return.

"I never thought I'd be saying this, but... glad to see you back." Dempsey said.


End file.
